Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who each also own a third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Growth
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports movie to date.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
