Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Increase
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630m (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports movie to date.
Current Performance
Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
