Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Increase
The deal signifies a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits 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 F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
