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 – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Financial Increase
The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in valuations of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Present Standings
Mercedes are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
