Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold one-third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team will remain unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Increase
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed more than $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
