Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the company.
An official representative said: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports film ever released.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races left this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
