Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and chief executive officer 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 company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Financial Increase
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed over $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports movie to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
