Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
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 drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
