Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Financial Increase
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three races left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
