Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who each also own one-third of the company.
An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports film to date.
Current Performance
Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in 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 straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
