Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the company.
An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports film ever released.
Present Performance
Mercedes are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, 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 after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
