Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the growth 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 box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
