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 – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of the team stays unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Growth
The deal signifies a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports film to date.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
