Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal signifies a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, 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 in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
