Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Financial Increase
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
