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 Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "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 Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group 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 around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three races left this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
