Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold one-third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Financial Increase
The deal would represent a significant increase in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge reflects the growth in market values of F1 teams in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and earned more than $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three races left this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
