Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in market values of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Current Standings
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
