Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates 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 corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
The deal signifies a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
