Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Financial Increase
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the growth in market values of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie to date.
Present Standings
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
