Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We are providing no comment on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Growth
The deal signifies a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports movie to date.
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 British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing'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, between 2014 and 2021.
