Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Financial Increase
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
