Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
This transaction estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – 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 approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned more than $630m (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races remaining this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix 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 straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
