Toto Wolff is engaged in advanced talks to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Breakdown
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who each also own one-third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We are providing no comment on this. The management structure of the team will remain unaltered, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 since Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits recently as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned over $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports film to date.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, behind McLaren Racing, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races this year and is fourth in the individual standings behind McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight straight team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 to 2021.
