Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Increase
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
