Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who both hold a third of the company.
An official representative said: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Financial Growth
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed more than $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
