Friday, 20 November 2009, 08:48 GMT

Frank Williams and Patrick Head have sold an equity stake in their Formula 1 team to an Austrian investment company.

Williams and Head have been the sole co-owners of Williams since it was formed in 1977 - and there has long been resistance to selling off a part of the company despite frequent speculation linking the team with numerous manufacturers.

However, Williams announced on Friday that a deal has been reached with an Austrian investment company led by investor Toto Wolff for him to have shares in the team. He will also sit on the company's board.

As well as his business activities, Wolff is a part-time racer – having competed in recent years in the FIA GT championship and the Austrian Rally Championship – in which he finished runner-up last year.

Frank Williams is expected to speak later today about the motivation behind the selling of shares.