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 £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – following 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 shareholding in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who both hold one-third of the company.
An official representative stated: "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 Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630m (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports film to date.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.
Their lead driver 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's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
