'Mercedes consider quitting F1'

[Dare]

Mercedes are reportedly "on the verge of quitting Formula One" after being excluded from Bernie Ecclestone's Stock Exchange floatation boardroom.

Although Mercedes won the Chinese Grand Prix earlier this season, the German manufacturer could pull their support after failing to get the same consideration granted their main rivals in Ecclestone's proposed floatation on the Singapore exchange.

While rivals Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull will all have the chance to appoint directors to the new board, Mercedes have not been included in that offer.

As a result The Times newspaper's F1 correspondent Kevin Eason claims Mercedes could walk away.

'Mercedes, which is estimated to have spent more than £1 billion on grand prix racing in the past two decades, is on the verge of quitting Formula One as the company is denied a seat in the new boardroom that will control the sport when a Stock Exchange float is completed,' Eason reports.

'Red Bull, the relative newcomers to grand prix racing, and Ferrari have both been promised boardroom places by Bernie Ecclestone, Formula One's chief executive, as he lines up a float that could value Formula One at up to £6 billion.'

The report continues: 'Mercedes, who registered their first win of the modern era in China only last month, have been isolated with McLaren, their former partners, also being handed a place.'

The report added that should Mercedes quit F1 it could wipe as much as 20 percent off F1's floatation valuation.

[Jericoke]

I don't think that FOM going public is going to work in the long run for anyone not named Bernie.

It does seem crazy that Mercedes is being sidelined though.  Sure, as a registered team they have only one win, but how many wins do they have as engine manufacturer?  Or through direct investment in McLaren?

If I may speculate:  Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull all agreed to pay Bernie's asking price for a board seat, and Mercedes balked.  Now they're trying to use PR to get an equal seat at a discounted price.  (I have no evidence to back this up.  Just a feeling that Mercedes board members have a low tolerance for being pushed around.)

Which brings me back to my original point:  Mercedes must recognise the FOM public listing to be a bubble.  (Why list on Singapore?  Because the bigger exchanges know better than to accept FOM's business plan?)  No point in tying up money in those kinds of deals.

[Scott]

If I may speculate:  Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull all agreed to pay Bernie's asking price for a board seat, and Mercedes balked.  Now they're trying to use PR to get an equal seat at a discounted price.  (I have no evidence to back this up.  Just a feeling that Mercedes board members have a low tolerance for being pushed around.)

Which brings me back to my original point:  Mercedes must recognise the FOM public listing to be a bubble.  (Why list on Singapore?  Because the bigger exchanges know better than to accept FOM's business plan?)  No point in tying up money in those kinds of deals.

I bet you're right Jeri...

[F1fanaticBD]

If Mercedes is trying push its head through the claims of being the supplier of many championship winning engines, tell me reason why Williams is pushed away?

Its a championship winning team, with many race win, as well as very important and integral part of the modern formula one legacy, why deny them? Is this might be the reason Adam's sudden and quite unexpected resignation. I know I have no prove about Adam, but I am sure people will agree that Williams should have been included as well.

RBR is in and Williams is out..wizzo you should make some emoticon for stupidity as FOM and F1 administration are showing this nature from time to time..

[lkjohnson1950]

Bernie says Mercedes have done nothing in modern F1. I'm sure his feeling is that Williams have done nothing lately. He offered the top 3 teams seats to get them to sign the Concorde agreement and not hold out. The real joker is that Mercedes may have a case before the European Court and be p*ssed off enough to spend the money to pursue it. Should they win, that could be the end of Bernie, the FIA and maybe F1. Or Mercedes could buy enough shares to demand a seat on the board. Bernie better tread very softly here, I think Merc may hold the aces.

[Scott]

Public offerings often only up vulnerabilities.  Unless this is actually Bernie's Swan Song and he's cashing out, he leaves F1 open for picking.

[John S]

As I understand things it's not Bernie himself who wants out, he owns a very small percentage of F1 now, it's CVC that's driving the share offer. Investment funds mostly have a set timescale in which to move their assets on, in F1's case it has been known for a long time that the life of the CVC fund is due to expire in the next few years, unless of course the assets take a disastrous nosedive.

I think giving the present top teams representation on the board is more about getting the core gang's signature on the new Concorde deal rather than anything else. Without the new Concorde in place who will pay top dollar for the shares at the float? Only offering the top 3 board seats is typical Bernie poker playing, he knows that all the other teams, except Merc, really only exist as businesses because of F1 so will go along for the ride whatever. He also believes that only the top teams can make a breakaway work, so once he has those in line it's all plain sailing, or is it?

Lonny makes a good point about Merc being able to take on Bernie and CVC within EU law, it will also be hard for the FIA to side with the promoter for fear of EU intervention in it's own governance of F1. However I think Bernie may be working on the assumption that the Merc main board is not prepared to go to war over one part of it's motorsports program, which in itself is a small part of Merc's world.

The resignation of Adam Parr at Williams is certainly in some way connected to Bernie's machinations in F1, whether it's really over this question of board seats is not so clear. I feel it's more about the whole new Concorde deal being just more of the same old one-sidedness.

     

         

[Jericoke]

Public offerings often only up vulnerabilities.  Unless this is actually Bernie's Swan Song and he's cashing out, he leaves F1 open for picking.

Remember when Bernie sold out to that German media conglomerate, which then failed and left the German banks holding the bag, so that Bernie could arrange CVC getting F1 at a steep discount, all the while pocketing consulting fees coming and going?

Sure you do.

I know Bernie does.

He's got to be laughing himself to sleep getting to do the exact same thing over again.

[F1fanaticBD]

Is there any chance our beloved Bernie is folding, because he thinks its on  saturation point? F1 is not worth it for, make last dash of cash.. and let it go to astray...

[Jericoke]

Is there any chance our beloved Bernie is folding, because he thinks its on  saturation point? F1 is not worth it for, make last dash of cash.. and let it go to astray...

Bernie knows exactly what he's doing.

He's going to have his have his cake (piles and piles of money to pay for his daughter's insanity), and eat it too (run F1 with a silk gloved iron fist).

He's not leaving the sport:   he's consolidating his control, and letting others pay for it.