Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – following the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a shareholding approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who both hold one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no comment on the matter. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
The deal would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 grands prix so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
