Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the company.
An official representative said: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports film to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are second in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
