Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the company.
An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed over $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports movie to date.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
