It is understood that Toto Wolff is to sell a 5% stake in Mercedes, which, if the sale goes ahead, would value the Silver Arrows at £4.6bn.

According to Sportico, part of the Penske Media corporation, Wolff is looking to sell a 5% share of the team, of which he owns a third, as do Mercedes and Ineos, the British multinational conglomerate.

If the deal goes ahead, at £4.6bn, it would value the Brackley-based outfit higher than McLaren which was valued at £3.5bn following its change of ownership structure in September.

"We will be making no comment on this," a spokesperson for the team told Sportico. "The governance of the team will remain unchanged, and all three partners (Mercedes-Benz, Toto and INEOS) are fully committed to the ongoing success of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One."

It is unclear why Wolff is selling the stake, though the Austrian would continue as CEO of the team and team principal.

The Austrian was previously a shareholder in Williams but joined Mercedes in 2013, ahead of the rules overhaul of 2014 and at a time Ross Brawn had recruited Lewis Hamilton to the team.

Hamilton went on to win six titles with the team, with Nico Rosberg adding another.

At the time Wolff bought into the Silver Arrows in 2013 it was valued at £125m, though when Ineos bought its 33% stake in 2022 it was for £208m.