Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Financial Increase
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
