Mercedes-Brawn Deal Confirmed - Will be Renamed Mercedes Grand Prix

Brawn GP

Heidfeld & Rosberg comlete all German team, Button off to McLaren

By Clinton Deacon
November 16, 2009 3:30 am
Filed Under: F1

The long rumoured deal that will see Mercedes in partnership with an Abu Dhabi investment company take a 75% stake in Brawn GP has been confirmed. A move that will see the 2009 constructors champions renamed as Mercedes Grand Prix.

Ross Brawn – who will remain as team principal and Nick Fry will retain a stake of 24.9%. The remaining 75.1% will be split between Mercedes (45.1%) and Abu Dhabi company Aabar Investments, (30%).

Furthermore, the German car maker's 40% stake in McLaren will be wound back by the end of 2011. Although McLaren have confirmed that it will continue to be powered by Mercedes engines at least until 2015 while fielding cars with the usual silver and red livery.

The deal will also have a strong effect on the drivers market. The German car maker has little interest in keeping current drivers world champion Jenson Button at the wheel. Their interest is geared towards creating an all German team. It is widely expected Nico Rosberg will occupy the team's number 1 spot with fellow countryman Nick Heidfeld to complete the line-up.

This of course leaves Jenson Button high and dry. But a recent visit to the McLaren factory with his manager Richard Goddard should be enough evidence as to where his intentions lie. Button is expected to double his £3.5 million salary at the British team and will drive alongside 2008 champion Lewis Hamilton.

It will be the first time two world champions have driven for the same team since Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost were team-mates at McLaren in 1989.

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Tags: Brawn GP, Mercedes GP, Mercedes Grand Prix

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Comments (page 1 of 2)

scratchy996

November 16, 2009 9:10 am

suckers , better stick with McLaren , Brawn was a one hit wonder. they got lucky with the Honda car and it's diffuser.

MR BOOMTOWN

November 16, 2009 9:18 am

Brawn were the only team to push the rules to limit by using the double diffuser, ferrari did it in years past and i didn't hear nobody say it was luck. Brawn were'nt lucky, they just showed us what F1 is all about pushing the rules to limits finding loop holes that others couldn't find

scratchy996

November 16, 2009 12:26 pm

let's see them do it again next year, then i'll believe it.

MR BOOMTOWN

November 16, 2009 9:24 am

This was inevitable on 2 counts. Firstly, i got a feeling that the relationship between McLaren and Mercedes had begin to sour over the last few years, and this was only heightened when the SLR project ended and both companies went their own way to make rival cars (SLS AMG and MP4-12C).

Secondly, Mercedes has always had a preference to be more than just an engine supplier and have more control over a team, which i don't think it managed with McLaren. You only have to look back at it's sports car racing days in the late 1980s/early 1990s when it effectively took over the Sauber outfit to become a works team.

MERCEDES GP FTW IN 2010!!

bone91

November 16, 2009 9:25 am

Brawn knows how to build a F1 car period.

scratchy996

November 16, 2009 12:27 pm

everyone seems to forget that Honda invested 2 years and a lot of money into this car.

Bristol411S3

November 16, 2009 1:42 pm

And people also forget Honda achieved nothing in recent F1 before Brawn turned up after helping Benetton and Ferrari win the constructor's championships.

It's true that the Brawn car wasn't all Brawn's work, but you can't take away the achievement no matter who bankrolled it.

inso

November 16, 2009 10:18 am

Mercedes GP drivers are Nico And Jenson, AMS has comfirmed this. Mobil will go also with Merc as a sponsor.

Kimi and Lewís will be driving for MCL. MCL will be keeping free Merc engines for 3years, but which development versions, time will tell.

I guess Ferrari is diving hard next season, too all-italian team. And the engines are far too thirsty=very heavy cars at the beginning of races. Large tanks also compromise the aerodynamics and heavy cars will use slicks faster. It might be all MERC season.

As a Finn, and with both teams supporting white and blue, no problem there :)

peterjames7

November 16, 2009 10:32 am

what a shame......

all british design team that made this championship possible will probably all be sacked now, as i doubt mercedes will keep the factory in the uk for their "all german" factory team, i hope button does go to mclaren and its a shame brawn will be team fuhrer at german grand prix. i wonder if their will be some logos from the old mercedes grand prix cars that used to be above the three pointed star and on the wings????

sideskraper

November 16, 2009 11:29 am

No they won't. They've publicly declared they won't be changing anything. Not even the location of the factory. Much the same way they didn't change or move anything when they bought Ilmor.

badis

November 16, 2009 11:03 am

i think i will cheer for McLaren next season. I have always been a fan of Jenson Button

sw1000

November 16, 2009 11:06 am

I saw both Brawn and Mclaren last week at the Mercedes powered event at Brooklands race track, awesome and the hints were there.

I think it's a real shame that Brawn sold out, no one really knows what the financial and commercial pressures were behind it though so it's all guess work.

McLaren are now free to pursue both their own F1 and commercial plans, I only see them getting better.

I keep hearing that Button/Hamilton will be at Mclaren as Merc want an all German team (Heidfeld/Rosberg).

Bring it on and let battle commence.

p.s. please please don't buy Kimi, he's only interested in cash although he is a great driver.

N20_Purge

November 16, 2009 11:51 am

Germany vs Britain. Hmm, now where have I heard that before?

clinton

November 16, 2009 12:13 pm

More like England Vs Germany... and they are bound to do us on penalties - or maybe thats just Football

Edited by user on November 16, 2009 at 12:17 pm

sw1000

November 16, 2009 11:58 am

I was waiting for that one, remember we will fight them on the land, on the sea in the air or ON THE RACE TRACK ;o))

Just kidding, no bad feelings towards all the German car loving fans on the site.

nickmini

November 16, 2009 12:24 pm

Mercedes spent their money on two words: ROSS BRAWN.

bILLIONAIRE

November 16, 2009 12:26 pm

I am seriously let down by the lack of skills Nico Rosberg got.. After all he should be as good as Hamilton, after all he is just another son of a champion (Keke Rosberg). I thought Nico was swedish/finnish though. He got the scandinavian axcent when he speaks english..

scratchy996

November 16, 2009 12:41 pm

funny you say he has a Scandinavian accent because he doesn't even speak Finish very well. and the Finish language isn't Germanic like the other Scandinavian languages , it's part of the Finno-Ugric languages and sounds like Hungarian.

norther

November 16, 2009 3:36 pm

Their interest is geared towards creating an all German team. It is widely expected Nico Rosberg will occupy the team's number 1 spot with fellow countryman Nick Heidfeld to complete the line-up.

these two guys are german, or are my ear lobes paralized?

scratchy996

November 17, 2009 7:28 am

i always thought they are both Bolivian or Chinese...

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