Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The management structure of the team will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos bought its share 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 Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races remaining this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has won 2 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's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
