Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding approximately five percent.
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-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The management structure of the team will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement signifies 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 valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
