Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no comment on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the success 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 Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports film ever released.
Current Performance
Mercedes are second in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races left this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
