Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – following McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
