Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of the team will remain unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Financial Increase
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed more than $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Present Standings
Mercedes are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
