Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned more than $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
