Toto Wolff has officially bought shares in Aston Martin, it was reported on Friday.
Per motorsport.com, Wolff has made the “personal investment” of a 4.77% stake in the Lawrence Stroll-owned company, which will be diluted to 0.95% after a rights issue to happen next week. The value of the near-1% stake is estimated to be $46 million.
As to Wolff’s fate with the Silver Arrows, a team spokesperson has stated that “Toto’s partnership and executive role with Mercedes are unaffected by the transaction.”
With his current contract as Mercedes team principal set to expire at the end of the 2020 season, earlier reports of his investment had frequently linked it with a switch to Aston Martin in a managerial capacity, where he would work alongside his “good friend” Stroll.
However Wolff has repeatedly shot-down such speculation, having recently told Austrian broadcaster ORF that “the platform is working very well for Mercedes as a brand and therefore everything points to us working together for the next few years.”
Additionally, while his investment might seem to create a conflict of interest as Aston Martin currently sponsors rivals Red Bull and will soon emerge as a direct competitor in Formula 1, this is mitigated given Mercedes parent-company Daimler holds its own stake in the company and acts as its primary supplier.