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 a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the company.
An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports movie to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three races remaining this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races 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.
The team won a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
