Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in market values of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
