Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal signifies a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Present Standings
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
