Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who both hold one-third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Growth
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos bought its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports film to date.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
