Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who both hold one-third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Growth
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won two of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
