Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
The deal signifies a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports film to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three races left this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
