Rumors
Chances are that Mercedes F1 team will be put up for sale by Daimler Group
- GPblog.com
For some time now there have been rumours that the future of the Mercedes AMG F1 team in the sport is anything but certain. The parent company of the top team in F1, Daimler Group, is said to use the corona crisis as a reason to put the entire team up for sale.
The rumour now goes beyond Formula 1, which Daimler questions. There are thoughts of a sudden halt of all sponsorship and sports activities of the brand, F1-Insider.com reports. The corona crisis in combination with the earlier cheating software scandal is seized as a reason. These sponsoring and sports activities include the F1 program as well as the Formula E team.
According to the medium there is a chance that Mercedes will be sold as an F1-team and that they will (only) continue to develop engines for the royal class of motorsport. The reasons are financial. On an annual basis, 300 million euros are earmarked for the project and according to the group that is no longer tenable. Nor can the approaching budget cap help in this respect.
Merger of Mercedes and Aston Martin
If the Mercedes is put up for sale, it will probably be a group of investors who will take over the business. F1-Insider drops the names Toto Wolff and Lawrence Stroll in this regard. The latter bought up car manufacturer Aston Martin earlier this year and will transform the current Racing Point F1 team into the British factory brand. Toto Wolff, the current team chief at Mercedes, has already made some purchases there as well.
There is further reasoning by the medium. Wolff might already know more about his team's future in F1 and Daimler Group's plans. Together with his acquiantance, Stroll, he could join forces and buy up Mercedes. A merger between Mercedes and Aston Martin would then be a logical consequence.