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 the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
The deal would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in market values of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
