Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no comment on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Present Performance
Mercedes are second in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three races remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
