Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal signifies a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group bought its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630m (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
