Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos Group, who each also own a third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We will be making no official statement on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and all three partners are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
The deal signifies a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed over $630 million (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
