Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports movie to date.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
