Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who each also own one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Financial Growth
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams recently due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630m (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports film to date.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three races left this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
