Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5 billion in an adjustment to corporate structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a stake in the region of five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 will remain as team boss and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes-Benz and chemicals giant Ineos Group, who each also own one-third of the company.
An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Increase
This arrangement would represent a substantial rise in worth of the Mercedes team after Ineos acquired its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in market values of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned more than $630m (£458 million) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren Racing, with three Grands Prix left this season.
Their lead driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.
