Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The governance of the team will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Valuation Increase
The deal would represent a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Current Performance
Mercedes are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
