Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports film to date.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
