Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Financial Increase
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
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, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
