Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell 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 were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding 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 industrial group Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no comment on this. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Financial Growth
The deal signifies a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group bought its stake 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 growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
