Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Financial Growth
The deal signifies a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
