Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
The deal signifies a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge 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 trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports film ever released.
Current Performance
Mercedes are second in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won two of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship 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 for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
