Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
The deal would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.
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.
The team won a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
