Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
The deal signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned over $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports film ever released.
Current Performance
Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in two 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 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, between 2014 and 2021.
