Mercedes F1 boss buys stake in Aston Martin

London, April 18 (IANS) Mercedes Formula 1 Team Principal Toto Wolff has bought a 4.77 per cent stake in Aston Martin, who is set to be directly involved from 2021 in the sport.Wolff however remains committed to the Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport Formula One Team, where he holds a 30 percent share in addition to being the team principal, Motorsport.com reports.It is further reported that Wolff's investment will be diluted down to 0.95 per cent of the company next week following the resolution of a rights issue.Speculation over Wolff's investment to buy a private share in the iconic British automotive company has been around ever since his friend and Racing Point F1 team's co-owner Lawrence Stroll completed a takeover of Aston Martin.Stroll later said that Racing Point will be rebranded to Aston Martin F1 from the 2021 season with an intention of moving the team from the midfield in the F1 grid to competing with the likes of Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari higher up.Wolff has overseen a highly successful era for Mercedes since taking over in 2013. Under him and with driver Lewis Hamilton in the cockpit, Mercedes have won consecutive Drivers' and Constructors' Championship titles from 2014 to 2019. As of 2019, only Wolff has won more than five consecutive double world championships. He has previously held a stake in the Williams F1 team.
--IANS rkm/aak/