Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
The deal signifies a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams recently due to the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed over $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
