Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of the team will remain unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
The deal signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Current Standings
Mercedes are second in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
