Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who both hold one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Financial Growth
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in market values of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports movie to date.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
