Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who both hold a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The management structure of the team stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects 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 was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports film to date.
Present Standings
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
