Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Growth
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
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 George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
