Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The governance of the team will remain unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Increase
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
