Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Growth
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in market values of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports movie to date.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races 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.
The team won a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
