Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed over $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
