Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no comment on this. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Financial Growth
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie to date.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
