Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of the team will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports film to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
