By alley - Sep 18, 2014, 11:08 AM ET

F1: Stroll buy-in rumors shifting from Sauber to Marussia

Canadian fashion industry billionaire Lawrence Stroll may have shifted his efforts from buying into an F1 team from Sauber to another financially challenged squad, according to European media reports.

Stroll, a fashion industry executive, is a longtime racing enthusiast who owns the Mont-Tremblant racetrack. His son Lance is a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy and races in the Italian Formula 4 championship.

Stroll was linked earlier this year with a potential purchase of commercial shares in F1 owned by Lehman Brothers, and earlier this month

was reportedly negotiating to buy a stake in the Sauber team

. However, Italy's Autosprint reports that Stroll's bid was rebuffed by owner Peter Sauber and team principal Monisha Kaltenborn.

Italy's Italiaracing claims that Stroll now has shifted his focus to Marussia, which also is known to be facing significant financial issues. Like Sauber, Marussia is a Ferrari engine customer, and fields Ferrari Driver Academy driver Jules Bianchi...