Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Financial Increase
The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458m) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports movie to date.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
