Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate 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 chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
The deal would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed over $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports film ever released.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races left this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
