Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We will be making no comment on this. The management structure of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
The deal signifies a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned over $630m (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Standings
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
