Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports film to date.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, 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 individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
