Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part 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 a change of ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of the team will remain unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
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.
The team won a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
