BERLIN: Mercedes motorsport chief Toto Wolff has bought a small stake in rival manufacturer Aston Martin, a Mercedes spokesperson has confirmed.
The investment of the Austrian will represent “0.95%” of the company following a rights issue, the spokesperson said. Britain’s Daily Mail reported late Friday that Wolff had paid £37 million (RM202m) for his stake in the firm which will return to the Formula One grid next season in a rebranding of the Racing Point team.
Mercedes’ parent company Daimler has owned a stake in Aston Martin since 2013. Recently an investment group of Canadian businessman Lawrence Stroll, who backs Racing Point, had invested some £600m (RM3.27 billion) in the manufacturer.
Stroll is good friends with Wolff leading to speculation the Mercedes boss could switch teams.
Wolff has denied those rumours and Mercedes say his investment has no impact on his current position. Under Wolff Mercedes have won the last six F1 constructors’ and drivers’ titles but his contract expires at the end of the year.
“We remain in good talks about what we want to continue to do together,” Wolff was recently quoted by the Oesterreich newspaper. But discussions have been delayed by the coronavirus crisis: “We now all have bigger problems to solve – human problems in our companies,” said Wolff. – dpa
