Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the company.
An official representative said: "We will be making no comment on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos bought its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned more than $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races 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.
Mercedes secured a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
