Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630m (£458m) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 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 secured a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
