Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
