Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Financial Growth
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in market values of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
