Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – a record for an F1 team – following McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who owns a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the company.
An official representative said: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth in market values of F1 teams recently due to the increasing appeal 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 more than $630m (£458 million) at the box office.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Current Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix this year 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 secured a record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
