MERCEDES boss Toto Wolff has bought a £37million stake in Aston Martin – but says he is fully committed to his role at the Silver Arrows.
The Austrian’s purchase will raise eyebrows in the F1 paddock after Racing Point owner, Lawrence Stroll, completed his takeover of the struggling British car brand.
Mecedes boss Toto Wolff has bought a £37million stake in Aston MartinCredit: Reuters
Stroll will rebrand his F1 team Aston Martin F1 next season, meaning Wolff will have financial links with two teams.
Wolff has acquired a 4.7 per cent stake in the manufacturer for £37m although this will drop to just below one per cent following a rights issue next week.
There is no conflict of interest as Mercedes parent company, Daimler, already owns a five per cent stake in Aston Martin.
A Mercedes spokesman said: “It is a financial investment and Toto’s partnership and executive role with Mercedes are unaffected by the transaction.”
Meanwhile, Silverstone chiefs have started negotiations with F1 about hosting two races at the Northamptonshire track – once the coronavirus situation has eased.
SunSPORT reported how the circuit’s MD, Stuart Pringle, was open to the idea of a double race.
And now F1 think it could be a solution to finally getting their season underway with two GPs at one venue.
F1 teams are currently on their shutdown period, meaning staff are prevented from going to their factories and working on their F1 cars.
And McLaren driver, Lando Norris, says that the 35-day shutdown will level the playing field when the season does get underway as the bigger teams have not been able to add to their cars during the enforced break.
He said: “No one in this current period right now can be developing and doing anything in terms of trying to make the cars quicker.
“Whether it’s for the leading teams or whether it’s for the slower teams, I think it is a level playing field at the moment in terms of what everyone can do.
“There’s no advantage really for the higher teams and the faster teams with more money.”
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Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
