Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who each also own one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of the team will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Financial Increase
The deal signifies a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports film ever released.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races left this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
