Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – following McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
The deal signifies a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos acquired its share for £208 million 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 box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
