Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – following McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Growth
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship 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 for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
