Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who each also own one-third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Financial Growth
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports film to date.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three races left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
