Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no comment on this. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
