Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who holds 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 if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no comment on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed more than $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports movie to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won two of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers 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 for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
