Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of the team will remain unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Growth
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group bought its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports film 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.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
