Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of the team will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Financial Increase
The deal signifies a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Their lead 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 Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
