Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
