Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values Mercedes 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 in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group bought its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Present Standings
Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
