Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Financial Increase
The deal would represent a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group bought its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
