Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Financial Growth
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
Mercedes are second in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
