Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The governance of the team will remain unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Growth
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
