Ron Dennis, the long-serving McLaren boss, is facing a battle to save his career at the British team, according to reports.
Sky News on Friday evening claimed that Dennis, 69, tabled a £1.65billion buyout of the McLaren Technology Group from a number of unnamed Chinese investors last week.
But the move is said to have provoked his fellow shareholders to try and remove Dennis from the group with an emergency meeting of the McLaren board called on Friday night. It is claimed that the summit could lead to his immediate suspension from the group.
The report also claimed that Dennis appeared at London's High Court on Thursday in a bid to prevent him from being placed on gardening leave until his contract expires in January.
McLaren would not comment on the story when contacted by Press Association Sport on Friday night. Dennis, who has been involved with McLaren since 1980, stood down as McLaren team boss in 2009 but returned as chief executive of the team five years later.
The Englishman, instrumental in signing Lewis Hamilton to McLaren -- for whom he claimed his first world title in 2008 -- has spearheaded the Woking-based marque to a number of driver and constructors' championships.
But their success has dried up in recent years, and their renewed relationship with Japanese engine manufacturer Honda has failed to provide a return to winning ways.
Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso finished only 12th and 13th respectively at the recent Mexican Grand Prix.
Dennis holds a 25 per cent stake in the McLaren Technology Group, but there has been rising tension with his Saudi-born business partner Mansour Ojjeh, who also holds 25 per cent.