Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Financial Increase
The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
