Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding 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 and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own one-third of the company.
An official representative said: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed more than $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
