Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group bought its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
