Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
The deal signifies a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in valuations 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 box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports film ever released.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races remaining in the current championship.
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 individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
