Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports film to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three races remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
