Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell a portion of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – after McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of the team will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed over $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie ever released.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
