Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Increase
The deal signifies a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports film to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
