Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal signifies a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
