Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in valuations of F1 teams recently 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 featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
