Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team was appraised 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 would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
