Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of the team will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal signifies a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos bought its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits 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 F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed more than $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Present Standings
Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
