Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old 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 Group, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Financial Increase
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 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's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
