Bernie Ecclestone believes Mercedes should have acquired the McLaren team and taken full ownership, but admitted the move to acquire 2009 championship winners Brawn GP, was ‘sound’.
“To be honest it was always my opinion that Mercedes should have taken over McLaren years ago,” he told the official F1 website. “So what they’ve done now is absolutely sound. Now it’s theirs to call the shots.”
Mercedes motorsport vice-president Norbert Haug, who was present at the interview, revealed why taking-over Brawn GP was so beneficial.
“The beauty of this purchase also has a very positive financial aspect – because Brawn GP won the championship last season we get substantial funding from the rights holder, and we have partnered with great sponsors. These two aspects are funding the team and not Mercedes.
“We contribute with the engine and a small group of people in key areas – and that’s it. It’s a very efficient system, and I am sure Bernie would agree when I say that how we’ve done it could be a role model for when other manufacturers join Formula One.”
Ecclestone jokingly added: “In the future Mercedes should pay for their participation in the F1 world championship, considering how much publicity they’ve received lately [Laughs].”
Ecclestone reckoned the reason BMW, Toyota and Honda left the sport was because they couldn’t achieve a level of success shared by a small handful of teams, which, Haug pointed out, are the teams which remain apart of the sport today.
“Those who have been successful and have won titles are still part of Formula One – Ferrari, Renault and Mercedes. I can only say that our investment in the purchase of Brawn GP paid off. No other team had more exposure over the winter than the rebirth of the real Silver Arrows,” said Haug.
Ecclestone continued: “Let’s be serious, manufacturers are all there for different reasons. Mercedes are racers. They’ve been racing for a 100 years. They’ve always been there. The other people come and go.
“BMW came with us when I had Brabham – we won the world championship with them – and they left. Toyota have been more or less rally people in the past and turned to Formula One. I probably shouldn’t say what I’m going to say, but I think the team was mismanaged, and my guess is that if they had been managed properly they would still be with us.”
