Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, 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.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
