Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports film to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
