Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values 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.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
The deal signifies a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in market values of F1 teams recently due to 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 in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
