Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Increase
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed more than $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Present Performance
Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull'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 and 2021.
