Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in valuations of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Current Standings
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races left this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
