Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos bought its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
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 over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races left this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
