Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The management structure of the team stays unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Financial Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
