Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – 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 in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who each also own one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group bought its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
