Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Financial Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
