MX23RW : Saturday, September 7 23:30:50| >> :60:3095:3095:

Wolff ponders buying into Manchester United

Wolff ponders buying into Manchester United
© Reuters
There's a football flavour at Interlagos this weekend - with well-known former player Adriano wearing his old Inter Milan team shirt in the Ferrari garage.

There's a football flavour at Interlagos this weekend - with well-known former player Adriano wearing his old Inter Milan team shirt in the Ferrari garage.

At the same time, Mercedes boss and one-third team co-owner Toto Wolff is now revealing that he is eyeing a stake in Manchester United.

Another one-third of the Formula 1 team is owned by a subsidiary of team sponsor Ineos, a chemicals giant, which is controlled by British billionaire and Wolff partner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

Ratcliffe is reportedly poised to buy 25 percent of the famous English premier league club Manchester United - and Wolff is now publicly considering joining that bid.

"Jim has shared the trajectory with me," Austrian Wolff said in Brazil.

"I very much respect his values and we trust each other. If we felt it would make sense to be part of the investment group then I would certainly look at it."

With his Mercedes team stake now firmly in his pocket, Forbes has estimated Wolff's net worth at a staggering $1.6 million - following earlier investments in Mercedes-linked HWA and also the Williams F1 team.

"I have never aimed for trophy investments," Wolff, 51, said at Interlagos, "but I like the competitiveness of the Premier League.

"Jim and Manchester United is a love story because he is born there. Our personal relationship is strong and with (Mercedes CEO) Ola Kallenius, they call us the Three Amigos because we live in the no-nonsense world."

Wolff's real focus, however, is on leading Williams back to the top in Formula 1, having made obvious progress at the past few races with key upgrades.

"The motivation to catch up with Red Bull is enormous," he told De Telegraaf newspaper. "We don't want to wait for rule changes or for the new era from 2026.

"At the same time I'm not stupid and realise that Red Bull completely shifted its focus early on to the car for next year," Wolff added.

The good news for Mercedes is that the direction of its basic car concept now appears to be correct following the no-sidepods debacle, ahead of the launch of a "completely new" version for 2024.

"You can see with McLaren that they have gained almost a second in laptime with a new package," Wolff said. "So we have to fight Red Bull on our own.

"I'd rather do that than lobby for rule changes. So we haven't done that. For now," he laughed.

ID:528215:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect3140:

Click here for more stories about Toto Wolff

Click here for more stories about Manchester United

Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Lewis Hamilton arrives at the Austrian GP on June 29, 2023
Read Next:
Wolff denies Hamilton contract talks off the rails
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free match previews newsletter! Updates are sent twice a week.
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
6pm
Titans
@
Bears
6pm
Patriots
@
Bengals
6pm
Cardinals
@
Bills
6pm
Texans
@
Colts
6pm
Jags
@
Dolphins
6pm
Steelers
@
Falcons
6pm
Vikings
@
Giants
6pm
Panthers
@
Saints
9.05pm
Raiders
@
Chargers
9.05pm
Broncos
@
Seahawks
9.25pm
Cowboys
@
Browns
9.25pm
Washington
@
Buccaneers
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Manchester CityMan City33009279
2Liverpool33007079
3Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton32106247
4Arsenal32105147
5Newcastle UnitedNewcastle32104227
6Brentford32015416
7Aston Villa32014406
8Bournemouth31205415
9Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest31203215
10Tottenham HotspurSpurs31116334
11Chelsea31117524
12Fulham31113304
13West Ham UnitedWest Ham310245-13
14Manchester UnitedMan Utd310225-33
15Leicester CityLeicester301235-21
16Crystal Palace301225-31
17Ipswich TownIpswich301227-51
18Wolverhampton WanderersWolves301239-61
19Southampton300315-40
20Everton3003210-80


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!