Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of the team will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
The deal signifies a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos bought its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
