Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who both hold a third of the company.
An official representative said: "We are providing no comment on this. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
