Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold 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 unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group bought its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports movie to date.
Present Standings
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won two of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
