Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who each also own a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
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 growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
