Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the company.
An official representative said: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Financial Growth
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos bought 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 the sport globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports film to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three races remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
