Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Financial Increase
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three races remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
