Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own a third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630m (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
