Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix this year 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 secured a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
