Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The management structure of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races left this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
