Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 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 industrial group Ineos, who both hold a third of the company.
An official representative said: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of the team will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group acquired its share 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 around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630m (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Current Standings
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
