Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the company.
An official representative said: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal signifies a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports film ever released.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.
Their lead 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 secured a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
