Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Financial Increase
The deal would represent a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three races remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
