Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned over $630 million (£458m) 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, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
