Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 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.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
