Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed more than $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports movie to date.
Present Standings
Mercedes are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
