Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own one-third of the company.
An official representative said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group bought its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie 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 Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races this year 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 secured a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
