Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who each also own one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
The deal signifies a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races 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 secured a record eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
