Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no comment on this. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie to date.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races so far 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 straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
