Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure 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 holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the company.
An official representative said: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
The deal signifies a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
