Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Financial Growth
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
