Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Financial Growth
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports movie to date.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
