Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – after McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three races remaining 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 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 for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
