Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of the team will remain 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 worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports movie to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races remaining this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
