Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Financial Increase
The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in market values of F1 teams recently due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
