Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports movie to date.
Current Standings
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
