Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The management structure of the team will remain unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Growth
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports film to date.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
