Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake approximately five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Valuation Increase
The deal signifies a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in 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 won a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
