Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.
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, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of the team will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports movie to date.
Present Standings
Mercedes are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
