Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of the team will remain unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
