Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no comment on this. The governance of the team will remain unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Present Performance
Mercedes are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the individual standings 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 driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
