Toto Wolff is in advanced talks to offload part of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal values the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren were valued at £3.5 billion in a change of corporate structure last September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old will remain as team principal and chief executive officer if the sale goes through.
Shareholder Structure
Remaining partners in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and industrial group Ineos, who each also own a third of the company.
A Mercedes spokesperson said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of the team will remain unchanged, and each shareholder are dedicated to continued achievements of the brand in F1."
Valuation Growth
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in value of the Mercedes team after Ineos Group bought its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise demonstrates the expansion in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the growing popularity of the sport around the world.
This was also seen in the success of the Formula 1 film starring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and earned more than $630 million (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
The film represents Pitt's most successful movie and the most successful sports movie to date.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix left in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races so far and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes secured a unprecedented eight consecutive team titles and seven driver championships, six won by Lewis Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
