Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Growth
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
