Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who both hold one-third of the company.
An official representative said: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Financial Increase
The deal signifies a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed more than $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports film ever released.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three races left this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
