Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races left this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
