Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Increase
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Current Performance
Mercedes are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
