Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie to date.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has won two 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's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
