Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
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 comment on this. The governance of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
The deal would represent a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently due to the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports film to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are second in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
