Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Financial Growth
The deal signifies a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports movie to date.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place 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 drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
