Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Financial Increase
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports film ever released.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won two of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
