Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal signifies a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races remaining this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
