Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell 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 an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Financial Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
