Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – after McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Financial Increase
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos bought its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630m (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left this season.
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 drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
