Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Financial Increase
The deal would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed over $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
