Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who both hold one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Increase
The deal would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
