Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports film to date.
Current Standings
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
