Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years 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 earned more than $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
