Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the company.
An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
