Shareholders to vote on Mercedes’ F1 exit
That is the claim of the respected French commentator Jean-Louis Moncet, writing in his Auto Plus column.
Norbert Haug on Monday denied reports the German carmaker is on the verge of quitting the sport because it is not being offered the same Concorde Agreement deal as rival top teams Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull.
But Moncet's apparently 'well-informed source' said: "The Mercedes directorate will vote on whether to stop the F1 program at the end of 2012, and consequently (Mercedes) will not sign the agreements offered by Bernie Ecclestone."
The source said "the majority" of shareholders may veto Mercedes' F1 activities, which includes its own works team and the supply of engines to McLaren and Force India.
"The future of the (Mercedes) team is also tied to investment and sponsorship and the outcome of the arm-wrestling with Ecclestone," Moncet's source added.
05/07/12 (GMM) Norbert Haug has denied reports Mercedes is on the verge of quitting F1.
London newspaper The Times' F1 correspondent Kevin Eason reported that the German carmaker has conducted a study into how the withdrawal could be effected.
He said the reason for Mercedes pulling out would be because, unlike Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull, the Stuttgart marque has not been offered a place on F1's post-floatation board.
When asked about Eason's report, Mercedes' competition vice-president Haug insisted to Germany's Auto Motor und Sport: "There is absolutely no truth to that."
The report said negotiations between Mercedes and F1 bosses over the next Concorde Agreement are ongoing.
First as an engine supplier only, Mercedes has been in F1 in the modern era since 1993.
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| Mercedes driver Michael Schumacher won't be smiling if they leave F1 |
05/07/12 (GMM) Mercedes is "on the verge" of quitting formula one.
That is the alarming claim of the London newspaper The Times, in an article written by its authoritative F1 correspondent Kevin Eason.
Eason wrote that while rival top teams Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull will get to appoint directors once F1 is floated on the Singapore exchange, Mercedes has not been extended the same offer.
"Why should Mercedes have the same deal as the others?" F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone is quoted as saying. "What have they done in formula one?
"They won a race and that is it."
That attitude, Eason argues, has left Mercedes "on the verge of quitting formula one", having apparently conducted a study into how its Brackley based works team could be withdrawn.
Eason also quoted Ecclestone as having "scoffed" at the suggestion Mercedes quitting could wipe 20 per cent off the value of F1's stock market floatation.
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| Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg won't be smiling if they leave F1 |
04/26/12 (GMM) A spat between two Britons could drive the German giant Mercedes out of formula one, according to a new media report.
F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone recently confirmed he is at loggerheads with Mercedes over the next Concorde Agreement.
But at the same time, he insisted that the Stuttgart marque is "very important to formula one. I have always supported them and I will always," he is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport.
Indeed, Mercedes has its own and newly-winning works team, powers the marquee McLaren outfit, and also supplies engines to Force India.
Ecclestone's dispute is with fellow Englishman Ross Brawn, who is the Brackley based Mercedes GP team's principal.
"I have spoken to the team manager (Brawn) about it (the dispute) and he seems to believe that the team has won a few world titles and about 80 races since the Tyrrell days," said the 81-year-old.
Sport Bild reports that Ecclestone is refusing to give in to Brawn's demands for extra Concorde Agreement entitlements for past title successes and history.
The magazine said the relationship has become so intense that Ecclestone has even refused to give a joint interview with Brawn.
"He (Brawn) was never very nice to me," the F1 'supremo' is quoted as saying.
The German report said there is a risk Mercedes will, as a result of the 'ice age' between the British duo, pull the plug on its entire F1 involvement.