Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in valuations 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 success of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports film to date.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
