Toto Wolff is in final negotiations to sell part of his shareholding in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6 billion – an unprecedented figure for a Formula 1 squad – after the McLaren team was appraised at £3.5 billion in a change of ownership structure in September.
Wolff, who holds one-third of Mercedes F1, plans to divest a shareholding approximately 5%.
Wolff, aged 53 would stay on as team boss and CEO if the sale goes through.
Ownership Structure
Remaining partners in the team are Mercedes-Benz and industrial group Ineos Group, 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 Mercedes F1 stays unchanged, and each shareholder are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
The deal signifies a significant increase in worth of the Mercedes team since Ineos bought its share for £208m in 2022.
The rise reflects the expansion in market values of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years due to the growing popularity of Formula 1 around the world.
This trend was evident with the box-office performance of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed more than $630m (£458m) at cinemas worldwide.
It is the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports film ever released.
Present Performance
Mercedes are runner-up in the constructors' championship, trailing McLaren, with three races remaining in the current championship.
Mercedes' primary racer George Russell has won two of the 21 races so far and is in fourth place in the drivers' championship after McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes won a record eight consecutive constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, between 2014 to 2021.
