Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold one-third of the company.
An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports movie to date.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
