Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We will be making no comment on this. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
The deal signifies a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned over $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
