Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We will be making no comment on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Financial Growth
The deal would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports movie to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races 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 fourth in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
