Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
This transaction estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in a change of corporate structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a shareholding in the region of 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own a third of the company.
An official representative stated: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of the team stays unaltered, and all three partners are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Valuation Increase
The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos Group acquired its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in market values of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This was also seen in the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The team won a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
