Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We are providing no comment on this. The governance of the team will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Growth
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
