Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Increase
The deal signifies a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group bought its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races so far and is fourth 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 for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
