Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal values Mercedes at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure last September.
The Austrian executive, who owns a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately five percent.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Ownership Breakdown
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who each also own one-third of the enterprise.
A Mercedes spokesperson stated: "We will be making no comment on the matter. The management structure of Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
The deal signifies a significant increase in value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos bought its stake for £208m in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the increasing appeal of the sport globally.
This trend was evident with the success of the Formula 1 film featuring Brad Pitt, which was released in summer 2023 and earned more than $630m (£458m) at the box office.
It is Pitt's most successful movie and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are runner-up in the constructors' championship, behind McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining in the current championship.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has secured victory in two of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a unprecedented eight straight constructors' championships and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
