Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The management structure of the team will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630m (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Standings
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren's 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 for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
