Toto Wolff is engaged in final negotiations to offload part of his ownership stake in the Mercedes F1 outfit.
The deal estimates the Mercedes team at £4.6bn – an unprecedented figure for an F1 team – after McLaren was appraised at £3.5bn in an adjustment to corporate structure in September.
Wolff, who owns one-third of Mercedes F1, would sell a stake in the region of five percent.
The 53-year-old would stay on as team principal and chief executive officer should the deal proceed.
Shareholder Breakdown
The other shareholders in Mercedes F1 are Mercedes and chemicals giant Ineos, who both hold one-third of the company.
An official representative said: "We are providing no official statement on this. The management structure of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."
Valuation Growth
The deal would represent a significant increase in worth of Mercedes F1 after Ineos Group bought its stake for £208 million in 2022.
This surge demonstrates the growth in valuations of Formula 1 outfits in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of Formula 1 around the world.
This was also seen in 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.
The film represents the actor's top-grossing film and the most successful sports movie to date.
Current Performance
The Mercedes team are second in the team standings, trailing McLaren, with three Grands Prix remaining 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.
The team won a record eight straight constructors' championships and seven drivers' titles, six for Lewis Hamilton and one by Nico Rosberg, from 2014 and 2021.
