Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The governance of the team will remain unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Growth
The deal would represent a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Present Standings
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 won 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
