Former F1 team boss personally paid ‘milllions’ in salary money to staff twice before takeover

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Former F1 team principal Otmar Szafnauer has revealed that he paid the salaries of staff at Force India twice before its takeover from Lawrence Stroll.

The team has gone through several incarnations since it was taken over by Aston Martin, after it went into administration during the 2018 season.

This happened after the team entered financial difficulties under former owner and Indian businessman Vijay Malja, with it eventually collapsing midway through the season.

Billionaire Stroll rescued the team amid legal action instigated by numerous creditors which included driver Sergio Perez, as a means of allowing the team to operate while a new owner was sought.

Otmar Szafnauer recalled the difficult times when speaking on the High Performance podcast, and revealed that he paid ‘millions’ in salary money twice for the entire staff.

Otmar Szafnauer paid ‘millions’ in staff salaries at Force India

Force India faced increasingly tight financial issues throughout the season, with Perez calling the situation “critical” as the team could not afford to bring developments to the car.

Things took a turn for the worse when Szafnauer was forced to pay out the salaries of each member of the team, which he admits cost him ‘millions’ out of his own pocket.

When asked if he paid their salaries, Szafnauer said: “Twice.”

“It was in the millions. I knew the salaries were not going to get paid and I know how difficult that is for some people.

“Some people live from paycheque to paycheque, and I understand it. We had to pay the salaries. Only a few people knew.”

Toto Wolff says Aston Martin rival ‘to be reckoned with’

Since taking over Force India, Stroll has rebranded it to Aston Martin and spent his time behind the scenes building it up into a championship-winning entity.

Adrian Newey is the big headline signing for them that was confirmed in September ahead of his March 2025 arrival from Red Bull, while several other backroom staff are also impressing including former Ferrari technical boss Enrico Cardile and ex-Mercedes engines head Andy Cowell.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Aston Martin F1 Team from team principal to lineage

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff believes the combination of Newey and Fernando Alonso in the same team will make them a ‘package to be reckoned with’ in the future.

Aston Martin will also make the switch to Honda engines for 2026, effectively becoming the works outfit for the Japanese company after years of success with Red Bull.