Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Financial Increase
The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
