Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who both hold a third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Financial Growth
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
