Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Present Standings
Mercedes are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix 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.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
