Documents revealed Wolff has purchased a 4.77% stake in Aston Martin Lagonda, although that will be diluted to just under 1% by a rights issue on Monday. Wolff is close friends with new Aston Martin executive chairman and Racing Point owner Lawrence Stroll (pictured at left, with Wolff), and Wolff’s investment is described as a personal one.

“Fully diluted following the pending rights issue, this investment will represent a 0.95% stake in the company,” a Mercedes spokesperson said. “It is a financial investment and Toto’s partnership and executive role with Mercedes are unaffected by the transaction.”

While Wolff — who owns 30% of the Mercedes team — previously had a 16% stake in Williams that he sold, his investment in Aston Martin joins him with Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler, which has had a small shareholding in Aston for some time.

Wolff’s own future in F1 has been the center of speculation for a number of months, as the Austrian was linked with both Chase Carey’s role as CEO and chairman of the sport as well as a greater involvement with Stroll at Aston Martin. However, he told Austrian broadcaster ORF last month that “an operational role on my part at Aston Martin is definitely out of the question.”

Source : Racer