Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of the team will remain unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
The deal signifies a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630m (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
