Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal signifies a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Current Performance
Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won two of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
