Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of the team will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Financial Increase
The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in market values 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 Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie to date.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers 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, between 2014 and 2021.
