Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own a third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports film to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
