Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Increase
The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group bought its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
