Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – following McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no comment on this. 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."
Valuation Increase
The deal would represent a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three races remaining this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
