Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of the team stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Financial Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned over $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Present Standings
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won two of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
