Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell part of his shareholding 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 £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own a third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no comment on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
