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 £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell 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
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of the team will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
