Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake in the region of 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who each also own a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
The deal signifies a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group acquired its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the expansion in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted last summer and has grossed over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports film ever released.
Present Standings
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix remaining this season.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix so far and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
