Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of the team will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Financial Growth
The deal signifies a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Current Performance
Mercedes are second in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
