Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who each also own a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no comment on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
The deal signifies a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in valuations 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 more than $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports film to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races remaining this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
