Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of the team will remain unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Financial Growth
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports film ever released.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
