Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Growth
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits 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 starring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are second in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
