Everyone saw it coming so now this official confirmation now seems like a mere formality. I wonder how much he knew - if if he knew at all - about the Mercedes buy-out of Brawn and how it may have affected his decision.
Regardless, it’s now looking like there will be an all-British F1 squad with McLaren and an all-German squad at Mercedes GP… Seems like we’re heading back to the glory days of F1, national teams represent.
Mercedes-Benz has announced that it has taken over the Brawn Formula 1 team and re-named it Mercedes Grand Prix after buying a 75.1 per cent stake in the squad.
Big news for the Brawn squad and bigger news for Mercedes-Benz who finally get their own team, the true Silver Arrows are making a return next year, the first time back as a full factory team since they withdraw from F1 in 1955. Says head of Mercedes cars, Dr Dieter Zetsche:
Mercedes will compete in the F1 world championship next year starting with its own factory team
Whilst it may seem like a bad turn for McLaren, you could imagine that their preference would be a little more autonomy, especially considering their recent automotive division PR about wanting to be considered in a similar light to Ferrari, an independently wealthy supercar manufacturer with a rich Formula 1 heritage.
Real shame, no more Japanese manufacturers in F1 is bad news. That Bridgestone are also pulling out at the end of 2010 is even worse.
On the positive side, this move means that the ex-BMW Sauber team should get the green light to be on the grid for 2010.
Within their press release announcing their withdrawal, Toyota specifically mention focussing their attention on “developing exciting production vehicles” based on their F1 experience and that they will stay involved with other forms of motorsport. Hopefully other series will benefit from this, will we see Toyota back in the WRC, more trips to the Nurburgring 24hr, another stab at Le Mans? I sure hope so.
