Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
The deal signifies a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three races left in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix this year and is in fourth place in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven drivers' titles, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
