Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal signifies a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed over $630m (£458m) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Current Standings
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
