Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who each also own one-third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The management structure of the team will remain unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Financial Growth
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
