Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed more than $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports film to date.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three races left this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
