Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who each also own one-third of the company.
An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film starring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports movie ever released.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team secured a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
