Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old 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 Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports film to date.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
