Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
