Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no comment on this. The governance of the team will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Growth
The deal signifies a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
