Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Increase
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in market values of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports film ever released.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
