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F1 News & Discussions => General F1 Discussion => Topic started by: John S on May 18, 2020, 11:44:03 AM

Title: Are Wolff & Stroll actively seeking to buy out Mercedes F1 team?
Post by: John S on May 18, 2020, 11:44:03 AM
Well Ralph Bach of F1-Insider.com seems fairly convinced there is a buy out plan, see extracts from the website below - the really telling paragraph I've highlighted in larger & bold type.

Now why he would bury this rather big assertion inside another story (supposedly about Alonso but mainly about Vettel) is troubling though.  :confused:
Perhaps he wants to float some gossip he's overheard without banging the big bass drum so to speak, so just how reliable is this  :DntKnw:

If, and it's a mighty big If, Wolff & Stroll do land Merc F1 will they try the Red Bull 2 teams model or sell on the Silverstone based team and facility?

- I'll leave you to decide for yourselves on the plausibility of everything.  :-*

 

What Vettel did not consider: F1-Insider.com found out that drastic austerity measures had been announced from Mercedes’ mother company in Stuttgart, shaken by the diesel scandal and the outbreak of the corona pandemic. All sponsoring and sports activities are put to the test.

This applies, among other things, to soccer, equestrian sports, eSports, but also Formula E and Formula 1. There is a chance that the automotive group will sell its worksteam and only keep the engine factory – also to set an example for employees who are afraid to lose their jobs.

Reason: The team has cost Mercedes around 300 million euros a year so far. Even the new budget limit of $ 145 million (excluding driver salaries, marketing, bosses) cannot guarantee that Formula 1 victories will cost Daimler no money.
Under these conditions, the only realistic possibility for Vettel would be Aston Martin.

Background there: The Canadian billionaire and owner of Racing Point, Lawrence Stroll, has been the main shareholder in the financially troubled English car manufacturer for a few weeks. One of his shareholders at Aston Martin is again Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff. As F1-Insider.com has learned, both are now looking for additional investors in the financial world for “a future Formula 1 project”. It is said to be the previous Mercedes factory team that they want to acquire to fuse it with the Aston Martin F1 team (still Racing Point).

Vettel’s problem: a place there would be forever given to Stroll’s son Lance, for whom his father had already set up the Racing Point project. The second seat would then go to Lewis Hamilton, the megastar of the scene. Only a resignation of the six-time world champion would open a door for Vettel.

Extracts courtesy f1-insider.com, taken from longer piece by Ralph Bach "Alonso comeback close", 14th May.   
Title: Re: Are Wolff & Stroll actively seeking to buy out Mercedes F1 team?
Post by: Jericoke on May 19, 2020, 07:51:47 PM
It wouldn't be the first time major manufacturers bailed on F1 when the economy tanked.  (In fact... isn't that part of the heritage the current Mercedes F1 team?)

Certainly a convoluted story for sure.  Would look a little bad on Mercedes to force people out of work if the Stroll and Wolff teams merge, so I would see an Ateam/Bteam dynamic as a better solution.

I can see Wolff happy to operate two equal teams as well, instead of the Red Bull/Toro Rosso dynamic we had before.
Title: Re: Are Wolff & Stroll actively seeking to buy out Mercedes F1 team?
Post by: Scott on May 29, 2020, 11:54:20 AM
Looks like Merc isn’t denying the speculation.

https://thejudge13.com/2020/05/29/daimler-mercedes-dont-deny-the-rumour/

In an earlier story there is broad speculation that Merc and Renault are desperately trying to get out of the sport legitimately before they are just shut down.
Title: Re: Are Wolff & Stroll actively seeking to buy out Mercedes F1 team?
Post by: Monty on June 04, 2020, 01:00:06 PM
Nothing would surprise me but from a purely 'business' point of view, Stroll buying Mercedes F1 makes no sense. He has already spent a couple of fortunes buying his son a drive at Racing Point and taking control of Aston Martin.
Keeping Aston Martin in business will cost him another fortune.
Selling Racing Point will not make him a fortune but buying and then running Mercedes F1 will take another significant fortune. Even for a Billionaire, the amounts of expense involved are very significant and the returns are very questionable. For Mercedes the 'return' from F1, albeit tenuous, is in the 'race on Sunday - sell on Monday' principle for their wide range of cars. This is far less applicable to a small volume specialist manufacturer like Aston Martin.
Title: Re: Are Wolff & Stroll actively seeking to buy out Mercedes F1 team?
Post by: Jericoke on June 05, 2020, 06:38:33 PM
Nothing would surprise me but from a purely 'business' point of view, Stroll buying Mercedes F1 makes no sense. He has already spent a couple of fortunes buying his son a drive at Racing Point and taking control of Aston Martin.
Keeping Aston Martin in business will cost him another fortune.
Selling Racing Point will not make him a fortune but buying and then running Mercedes F1 will take another significant fortune. Even for a Billionaire, the amounts of expense involved are very significant and the returns are very questionable. For Mercedes the 'return' from F1, albeit tenuous, is in the 'race on Sunday - sell on Monday' principle for their wide range of cars. This is far less applicable to a small volume specialist manufacturer like Aston Martin.

The Racing Point/Aston Martin investment isn't actually coming from Stroll's pockets: he's at the head of investment groups.  They can burn through a few billion and leave his fortune intact.  Sure, he'd lose money and credibility, but these ventures aren't going to wipe him out.

I also see this as a good thing for the sport.  Stroll obviously got interested via his son, but I think he's really committed to the sport itself.  Maybe we need a few other billionaires kids involved in the sport if it gets their feet in the door?
Title: Re: Are Wolff & Stroll actively seeking to buy out Mercedes F1 team?
Post by: Dare on June 06, 2020, 04:03:04 PM
Nothing would surprise me but from a purely 'business' point of view, Stroll buying Mercedes F1 makes no sense. He has already spent a couple of fortunes buying his son a drive at Racing Point and taking control of Aston Martin.
Keeping Aston Martin in business will cost him another fortune.
Selling Racing Point will not make him a fortune but buying and then running Mercedes F1 will take another significant fortune. Even for a Billionaire, the amounts of expense involved are very significant and the returns are very questionable. For Mercedes the 'return' from F1, albeit tenuous, is in the 'race on Sunday - sell on Monday' principle for their wide range of cars. This is far less applicable to a small volume specialist manufacturer like Aston Martin.

The Racing Point/Aston Martin investment isn't actually coming from Stroll's pockets: he's at the head of investment groups.  They can burn through a few billion and leave his fortune intact.  Sure, he'd lose money and credibility, but these ventures aren't going to wipe him out.

I also see this as a good thing for the sport.  Stroll obviously got interested via his son, but I think he's really committed to the sport itself.  Maybe we need a few other billionaires kids involved in the sport if it gets their feet in the door?


I think I'd rather see people get their drives by merit
not how big their daddy's bank account is
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