Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the company.
An official representative said: "We will be making no comment on this. The governance of the team will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Growth
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group bought its stake for £208m 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 Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Current Standings
Mercedes are second in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers 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 and 2021.
