Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own a third of the company.
An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in valuations 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 debuted last summer and has grossed over $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull'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, from 2014 and 2021.
