Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion 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 approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates 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 starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned more than $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
