Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports film to date.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
