Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of the team will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Financial Increase
The deal would represent a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports movie to date.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three races remaining this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races so far 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 won a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
