Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£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
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
