Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of the team will remain unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
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 over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British 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.
The team secured a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
