Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – 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 the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of the team stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
The deal would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in market values of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren's 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 by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
