Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Increase
The deal signifies a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group bought its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Current Standings
Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
