Mercedes: « No plan to terminate McLaren contract »

Mercedes-Benz does not intend to end its relationship with the Formula 1 team, McLaren, as a planned purchase of Brawn GP seems to be taking shape. However, the German automaker has stated that its partnership with the Woking team will change. Based in Stuttgart, Mercedes has agreed on a three-year plan to buy the Brawn GP team, although a final contract has not yet been signed.

The agreement then cast doubts on the future of the relationship between McLaren and Mercedes, but Daimler’s boss, Dieter Zetsche, stated that his company had no intention of ending the exclusive partnership agreement which concludes after 2011: «Ending our relationship is not an option but it will be different, » he declared.

Zetsche admitted that the future of their relations will depend on the overall costs in F1 in the coming years: We [Mercedes] want to see significantly lower budgets in F1 and a change in regulations, Mr. Zetsche stated.

These statements seem to leave McLaren with the choice between becoming a simple customer team from 2012 or establishing a partnership with another manufacturer. Zetsche suggested that part of his motivation regarding Brawn was fueled by the fact that McLaren is developing its own supercar.

« For a long time we lacked alignment on road cars, but we have now found a clear solution, » he concluded as Mercedes-Benz unveiled its own supercar SLS.