Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The management structure of the team will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
The deal signifies a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports film to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix so far 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 unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
