Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who each also own one-third of the company.
An official representative stated: "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 the brand in F1."
Financial Growth
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won two of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
