Official MercedesBuys 76 per cent stake into Brawn G.P.

[Chris Borg]

http://pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_news_item.php?fes_art_id=39570

Now this is interesting.

[Jericoke]

Looks like Button won't be getting that raise.

[FW14B]

Nope, looks like Button is going to be Hamilton's rear gunner in 2010. 

Surprised the team is going to be rebranded though, at least surprised it has happened so soon (I had expected a more gradual change). 

[Scott]

I agree.  I like the name Brawn more than Mercedes F1 or Silverstar F1 or whatever they're going to call it. 

[FW14B]

I actually think I'm a bit sad about this.  An independent team, working in Britain, will now to all intents of purpose become Team Germany F1 (no problem with there being such an entity), but they will lose both their drivers from this year and the identity they had built up and which had become popular throughout 2009.  Will many Brawn GP fans remain fans when it becomes Mercedes GP?  I am certain more people will remain McLaren fans once Merc have pulled out than will remain Brawn fans now Merc take over.  Obviously though Merc GP will be immensely popular.  So, the World Champions will start next year probably with Nico Rosberg and Nick Heidfeld and no number 1 as I guess Jenson takes that with him to McLaren (should that be the way this rollercoaster goes).

I guess one good thing is McLaren becoming an independent of sorts.  A massive one, but still an independent team.  I hope they do not suffer as a result.   

[Hampster]

mercedes-benz resumes its marvellous motor racing history on the 75th anniversary of the silver arrows, the worlds most unique racing cars. Mercedes wants to continue the tradition....

well if its back to the good ole days......heil hitler then 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Socialist_Motor_Corps

[cosworth151]

With the recent history of factory teams (Jaguar, Honda, BMW, Toyota, maybe Renault) I see this as a very bad thing!

[Scott]

I guess the question is now long Mercedes will allow Brawn to run the team his way, before they barge in and start making changes themselves.  I figure as long as Brawn is there, he won't let them push him around or he'll walk.  He might have been smart enough to include a decent escape clause that would allow him to buy back the Merc stock at a reasonable price.

Jag, Honda and Toyota were micromanaged from the company Boards.  Renault (maybe) and BMW simply left because they decided that F1 doesn't mean enough to them, and they didn't understand it enough to nourish the teams.

[cosworth151]

I wonder how much the new McLaren road car, which has no M-B input and will directly compete with Mercedes' new supercar, had to do with the move.

I also remember how quickly M-B pulled the plug on its last F1 team, at the height of its glory, back in 1955.

I wonder if anyone has told them that they can't build full body streamliners any more? 

[Jericoke]

I guess the question is now long Mercedes will allow Brawn to run the team his way, before they barge in and start making changes themselves.  I figure as long as Brawn is there, he won't let them push him around or he'll walk.  He might have been smart enough to include a decent escape clause that would allow him to buy back the Merc stock at a reasonable price.

My guess is as long as Brawn wins, they'll leave him be.  If Mercedes plays it smart, Brawn will go down in history as the pre-eminent figure in F1, along with Enzo Ferrari.  He's already won more championships than Michael Schumacher.

Jag, Honda and Toyota were micromanaged from the company Boards.  Renault (maybe) and BMW simply left because they decided that F1 doesn't mean enough to them, and they didn't understand it enough to nourish the teams.

Mercedes has had their toe in the water longer than Toyota and BMW did.  Honda and Renault already had histories of coming and going, and Mercedes has been active in F1 longer than either of Honda or Renault's current forrays.  The Jaguar experiment is perhaps the most baffling, because Ford really should have known what they were getting into.

I hope Mercedes isn't trading McLaren in for a cheaper team.  Around here most would agree that Brawn as a bit of a fluke, getting the jump the field using a brilliant Honda design.  It was the lack of winter testing that kept the design secret and kept the other teams from catching on.  Ford's mistake was assuming they could run a respectable F1 team on a tight budget; Mercedes might be doing that too.

[cosworth151]

Just a couple of weeks ago, we were overjoyed that an independent constructor could win both championships. I, for one, hoped it marked the return of the independents.

Now, with the Mercedes buyout and Button leaving, when I think about Brawn GP I'm reminded of the lyrics of Lerner and Loewe:

Don't let it be forgot
That once there was a spot
For one brief shining moment that was know as
Camelot