Cash-strapped Aston Martin has been thrown a lifeline by Lawrence Stroll.
The Canadian billionaire, who leads the Racing Point Formula One team and is father to its current driver Lance Stroll, in March helped to orchestrate a deal that has seen Aston Martin raise $660 million to help get the DBX built and shipped to dealers across the globe. In return, Stroll and his investors received a 25-percent stake in Aston Martin and Stroll was also named chairman.
But Stroll isn't the only F1 figurehead involved in the deal. In regulatory filings published Monday, it's been revealed that Mercedes-AMG F1 Team Principal Toto Wolff is also leading a consortium of investors that has bought in to Aston Martin. Their stake represents 0.95 percent of the company. It's an interesting development, especially with Stroll set to take Aston Martin into the world of F1 in 2021 by turning Racing Point into Aston Martin's factory team.
Toto Wolff
Though Mercedes-Benz also has an existing stake in Aston Martin, Wolff's investment is completely separate. Wolff is invested in a number of motorsport ventures including the Mercedes F1 team and previously Williams.
Under Stroll's guidance, Aston Martin's first task will be to restart production following Covid-19 coronavirus shutdowns. The company will then look to get DBX production running (it already has 2,500 orders to fill), while also focusing on improving its marketing to help grow sales. The F1 program is a key pillar of the new marketing campaign, Stroll said.
Aston Martin will then focus on getting the Valhalla hypercar into production around 2022, with a new mid-engine Vanquish to follow shortly after. The company is also committed to the revival of Lagonda as an EV brand, though this program has been pushed back to after 2025.
