Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who both hold one-third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Current Standings
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
