Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff has secured a 0.95 percent stake in Aston Martin, Motorsport has revealed.
With his contract expiring at the German manufacturer after 2020, the Austrian has been linked to the British luxury carmaker, which will return to Formula 1 with a works team in 2021 following an investment deal by Racing Point owner Lawrence Stroll.
Wolff, who is a good friend of the Canadian entrepreneur, has regularly denied recent claims he could become CEO at Aston, however, a personal investment wasn’t ruled out.
And that has now come to fruition with Toto purchasing a 4.77 percent stake in the company, but that will be reduced to 0.95 percent following a rights issue that will dilute its worth.
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Motorsport noted that while the deal may seem a conflict of interest, and will no doubt raise further rumours that Wolff will leave Mercedes, the manufacturer’s parent company Daimler is also a shareholder in Aston.
That deal, struck in 2013, means the company supplies engines and electronics for road cars, while also having a veto on other investment deals, meaning Daimler could have blocked Wolff from buying shares if they wished.
Instead, a Mercedes spokesperson confirmed the story.
“It is a financial investment and Toto’s partnership and executive role with Mercedes are unaffected by the transaction,” they said.
In addition, Racing Point/Force India have their own close ties to Mercedes, using engines and gearboxes since 2009.
As for Wolff, this won’t the first time he’ll have stakes in multiple teams, should he remain in place next year.
When he joined Mercedes as commercial director from Williams in 2013, he continued to hold shares the British team until 2016.