Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – after McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
