Silver Arrows set to fly as Mercedes buddies up to Brawn team
Seventy-five years after Juan Fangio drove the last full-factory Mercedes-Benz formula one car, the Silver Arrows are back to chase the world championship.
Brawn GP’s transformation to Mercedes Grand Prix has big implications for F1, with McLaren the obvious loser in the upheaval.
The close and successful partnership developed over 15 years is over, although Mercedes will continue as McLaren’s engine supplier for a few seasons. Mercedes is to sell back to McLaren its 40 per cent stake in the British squad.
Daimler AG, together with Aabar Investments PJSC, will take over 75.1 per cent of the Brawn GP team, with Daimler taking 45.1 per cent and Aabar 30 per cent. The rest of the 24.9 per cent will remain with the current stakeholders, including Ross Brawn and Nick Fry.
Ross Brawn has emerged as the winner, pocketing up to £30 million ($54m) for a big lump of Brawn GP and yet remaining as the team principal and part shareholder at Mercedes Grand Prix. Part of the appeal of the Brawn team is, of course, the man himself, who has a strategic mind and ability to attract the best people to his squad. These strengths, coupled with Mercedes’s financial and technological might, will make the reborn Silver Arrows a big threat as early as next year.
