Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who both hold one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Increase
The deal would represent a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed over $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports film ever released.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three races remaining this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
