Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned more than $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
