Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Increase
The deal would represent a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630m (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
