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 £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Growth
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed over $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports film to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
