Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the company.
An official representative said: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The management structure of the team will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
The deal signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630m (£458m) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports film ever released.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes 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.
