Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no comment on this. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group acquired its stake 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 growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
