Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who each also own one-third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
