Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The management structure of the team stays unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
The deal would represent a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 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.
Mercedes secured a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
