Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports movie to date.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
