Ex-Formula 1 chief Bernie Ecclestone has backed suggestions Toto Wolff could join Aston Martin as chief executive.
The current Mercedes motorsport chief, who is out of contract after this year, has been linked to the British luxury carmaker due to his friendship with Racing Point owner Lawrence Stroll, who holds a 25 per cent stake in the company.
Having reported flown back from Australia with the Canadian, speculation over Wolff’s future rose again after it emerged the Austrian was not present for the video meeting between F1 teams, Liberty Media and the FIA to discuss measures in response to the coronavirus outbreak last week.
And Ecclestone wouldn’t be surprised if there was a link.
“Toto Wolff has become more friendly with Lawrence, he has the brains to pick the right people to be friends with, and I think we will more than likely see him join Lawrence at Aston Martin,” he told GPFans.
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“Lawrence has some people with him and the group has bought control of the company, and I suppose Toto could jump in there as chief executive. It might work.”
If Wolff was to leave Mercedes, it would certainly call into doubt the future of the German manufacturer in F1, particularly now the new regulations have been pushed back until 2022.
However, despite the question marks, INEOS chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who signed a five-year partnership with the Brackley-based team starting this season, is relaxed.
“All sport is a risk,” he said at the launch back in February.
“It’s a bit like if you look at our America’s Cup challenge, we are trying very, very hard to get to the start line with a boat that’s competitive, and it’s quite expensive to get there.
“You can’t take risk out of an acquisition. You have to apply some rigour and at the end of the day some common sense.”