Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of the team will remain unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Financial Increase
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
