Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in valuations of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
