Toto Wolff is 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 – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds 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 should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
The deal signifies a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Current Standings
Mercedes are second in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won two 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.
Mercedes won a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
