Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Financial Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in market values of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 races 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 won a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
