Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Financial Growth
The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
