Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
An official representative said: "We are providing no comment on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the growth in market values of F1 teams recently as a consequence of the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed over $630 million (£458 million) at the box office.
It is the actor's top-grossing movie and the most successful sports film to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, behind McLaren, with three races left in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 races 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 record eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
