Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports film to date.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races left this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
