Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Valuation Increase
The deal signifies a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed over $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, 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 in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
