Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload a portion of his shareholding 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 a change of corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
The deal would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
