Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
The deal signifies a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed more than $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three races left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
