Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
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."
Financial Increase
The deal signifies a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned over $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 races 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 straight team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
