Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned over $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports film ever released.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
