Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far 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 consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
