Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise 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 success of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
