Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no comment on this. The governance of the team will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years 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 in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Present Standings
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
