Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal signifies a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
