Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns 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 boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold a third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Growth
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports movie to date.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
