Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell a portion of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – following McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own one-third of the company.
An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The governance of the team will remain unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Financial Growth
The deal signifies a substantial rise in value of Mercedes F1 after Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the growth 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 box-office performance of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed more than $630m (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Current Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races left this season.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has secured victory in 2 of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the individual standings after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
