Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Increase
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed over $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports movie to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
