Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 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 the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Growth
The deal signifies a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of 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 last summer and has grossed over $630m (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
