Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who both hold a third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
Mercedes are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
