Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
