Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who each also own a third of the company.
An official representative said: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Growth
The deal signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in market values of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630m (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in two 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.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
