Lawrence Stroll bought a significant stake in Aston Martin last year. He also led the re-branding of Racing Point to Aston Martin Racing ahead of this season.
It has now been reported by RacingNews365 that the Canadian has further increased his investment in the company. Not only that, the report further goes on to claim that Stroll will soon be putting more money into the company.
Interestingly, it is worth noting that three members stepped down at the team’s first board shakeup. They were replaced by five members backed by Stroll. A second shakeup is expected in less than a month’s time.
“Stroll has increased his control over Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings – and by extension, the Aston Martin F1 Team – after Kuwaiti investors shrank their shareholder stake.
“The move gives Stroll greater control over the direction the brand is heading in, with its Formula 1 team expected to play a crucial role in his overall grand strategy to revive the British carmaker,” the report states.
Aston Martin Racing CEO Otmar Szafnauer believes that the team needs to target at least a top-3 spot in the constructors’ championship this season.
“It will be the target for us. But I don’t think it will be easy – we’ve got some formidable competitors there. Ferrari, for sure, will work hard over the winter to do better than they did last year.
“McLaren get a new [Mercedes] power train, the same one that we have and I’m sure they did that for reasons of competitiveness,” he said.
Sebastian Vettel will add some much-needed experience to the driver’s ranks this season as he will partner up with Lance Stroll. It will be interesting to see if the four-time Formula 1 world championship winner can find a way to keep his team in the running.
