Brawn says he quit Mercedes because he didn't trust Wolff, Lauda Very interesting stuff this...Toto has been called ''untrustworthy'' or words to that effect here numerous times, and Lauda crazy...
I +1 that if they continue to race for WDC and WCC next year under new regs. Until now all they may have done was do OK at managing Brawn's inheritance.
Brawn did all the groundwork to install the right people in the right places to build a team capable of winning multiple championships. They wouldn't be as dominant now without Brawn's efforts while he was with them. I wonder if the regulation changes will be a key test for the Mercedes team, whether they adapt to those as well as they previously adapted to the changing engine regulations or the pack starts to catch up to them. All the best, Andrew.
+1 It's thanks to Brawn they had 1 year head start to develop their turbo engine and still mantain that advantage. Can't wait to see them falling apart.
It'll take a while. They enjoy such a huge advantage that they could very calmly work on their 2017 car. I expect Red Bull to be closer, fingers crossed they an actually challenge.
Yes, Mecedes has been such a shabbily run organization, so I'm sure the new regs will just put them on their heels. How long have they been supplying F1 with winning engines? I thought that it was MS who gave the team all their development insights. However, with that said teams get the formula right for a period of time and then don't fair well with the new formula without ever making a personel change. This is what makes F1 interesting.
On that note Mercedes has been pushing the boundaries on suspension and aerodynamics side. On the latter perhaps on different aspects than RBR. All that knowledge and experience can be carried over to new cars.
Quite shocking that sometimes multimillion business like a F1 team can be run in such a puerile way. But I suppose that firing Brawn was more expensive than driving him mad until he quits.
Yep, maybe. Brawn wonders why MB sold shares to Wolff and Lauda. To me it makes sense. When MB pulls out of F1, it will only need investors to replace them, instead of having to find one buyer. It's to avoid a complete shut-down when they withdraw from F1 that MB chose to have co-owners . See what happened with Toyota, BMW or Honda when they pulled out. Mercedes will inevitably stop it's F1 programme at some point, but the continuity of the team will be secured by Wolff and Lauda having just to look for shareholders.
+1 But sadly many posters will not even be familiar with his writing in 'Road & Track' in day's gone by. In the days when passports quoted the holder's occupation, Rob's apparently just said 'Gentleman'. Quite. Another much missed personality was Ken Tyrell, who managed to build chamtionship winning cars from a couple of sheds in the family wood yard.
Ross Brawn was always a straight-shooter, whereas Wolff and niki always have their own interests as number one, regardless of the effect on others. It can be seen in the way they made Nico second fiddle to Elton even when the stronger driver was Nico, especially in making Nico apologise for collisions that had they happened the other way around, and by god they did often, Elton would get off scot free even if he destroyed Mercedes whole weekend
To recoup some of the money they have invested in it. There is the competitor licence which is quite valuable in itself. There are installations and equipment to sell, etc... Most constructors leaving F1 (Toyota, BMW, Renault, Honda) have tried to pass on their team to safe hands, not to see them vanish in obscurity. Only Toyota failed, but it made several attempts to find a suitable buyer.
