Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold one-third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned more than $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Present Performance
Mercedes are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
