Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who each also own one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Financial Increase
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports movie to date.
Present Standings
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining 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.
The team won a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
