Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Increase
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned over $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Present Performance
Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
