Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own one-third of the company.
An official representative said: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
The deal signifies a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed over $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
