Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports film ever released.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren's 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 for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
