Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed more than $630m (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
