Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Increase
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630m (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
