Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the company.
An official representative said: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of the team will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Growth
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Present Performance
Mercedes are second in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
