Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to sell part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – a record for a Formula 1 squad – following McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in an adjustment to ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who holds a 33% stake of the Mercedes F1 operation, would sell a stake approximately 5%.
The 53-year-old will remain as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
The other shareholders in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos, who both hold a third of the enterprise.
An official representative stated: "We will be making no official statement on this. The governance of Mercedes F1 will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in F1."
Financial Increase
This arrangement signifies a substantial rise in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos acquired its share for £208 million in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in valuations of F1 teams recently due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 globally.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie featuring Hollywood star Brad Pitt, which debuted in summer 2023 and has grossed more than $630 million (£458m) at the box office.
The film represents Pitt's most successful film and the highest-earning sports movie to date.
Present Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren Racing, with three races left this season.
Their lead driver British driver George Russell has won 2 of the 21 races this year and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
The team won a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 and 2021.