Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the company.
An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Increase
The deal signifies a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 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 has grossed more than $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
