Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
The deal would represent a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned more than $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports film ever released.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three races left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
