Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss 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 one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal signifies a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 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.
Present Performance
Mercedes are second in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
