Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Increase
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams recently due to the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed more than $630m (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports film to date.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
