Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The governance of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Growth
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group bought its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in two 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.
Mercedes secured a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
