Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who each also own a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Growth
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Current Standings
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
