Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, 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 if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the company.
An official representative said: "We are providing no comment on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned more than $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports film to date.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 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 Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
