Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Financial Growth
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos bought its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in market values of F1 teams recently due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports movie to date.
Current Standings
Mercedes are second in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver 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.
The team won a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
