Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload 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 the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
