Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – following McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports film ever released.
Current Standings
Mercedes are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
