Michael Latifi, father of Nicholas, is being linked to a significant investment in Williams by Italian media.
The combination of a £13m loss for 2019 and a bleak forecast for this year caused by the coronavirus, forced the historic Formula 1 team to initiate the “formal sale process” to look for new funding.
In doing so, that opened Williams up to potential new investors and/or a majority takeover, with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff reportedly taking advantage to secure a five percent stake.
But its perhaps no surprise that Latifi, who invested $270m into the McLaren Group in 2018, has been touted as the most likely buyer of the Grove-based team.
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La Gazzetta dello Sport reports the Canadian billionaire is prepared to put 135m Euros into Williams in addition to his sponsorship through Sofina Foods and the loan he gave part of a refinancing agreement earlier this year.
Whether this would be enough to assume a majority stake and take over the team is not mentioned, but it would likely sustain the team through 2021 when a new $145m budget cap comes into effect in F1.
Such a deal would also likely ensure Nicholas Latifi’s place on the grid, in much the same way that fellow Canadian Lance Stroll is cemented in at Racing Point.
Another interested party in Williams is Russian billionaire Dmitry Mazepin, who was linked to an investment in the team last year but nothing materialised.
Should the Latifi talks break down, he is reportedly poised to jump in with talks also underway, Inside Racing understands.
This week, F1 motorsport boss Ross Brawn voiced optimism that a solution would be found to keep Williams on the grid, but former driver Mark Webber is worried for the sport’s independent outfits.
“I think for independent teams, they’re looking down the gun barrel in terms of what the new Formula 1 looks like,” he was quoted as telling the ‘At The Controls’ podcast.
“If you’re a little bit flaky pre-Covid then you’re going to be super-flaky now in terms of how your commercial partners look, just your overheads, what you have to run the team on a day-to-day basis. It can catch up with you very, very quickly.”
