Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The management structure of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Increase
The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates 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.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won two of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
