Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the company.
An official representative said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed more than $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports film to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won two of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
