Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The management structure of the team will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in valuations of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned over $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
