Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold a third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Standings
Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in 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's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
