Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
The deal would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
