Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Financial Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is fourth 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 driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
