Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of the team will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Financial Increase
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group bought its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
Mercedes are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
