Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who each also own one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in market values 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 box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports film ever released.
Present Standings
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
