Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of the team will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Increase
This arrangement would represent a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group bought its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports film to date.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
