Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who both hold one-third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed more than $630m (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports film ever released.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 2 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 Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
