Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, 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 value of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
