Mercedes wants to get rid of Bernie if...

... the Munich state attorney brings a charge against him in the BayernLB/Gribkowsky affair. Süddeusche Zeitung quotes someone from Mercedes: "We want F1 to be clean".

Further, the new contract between the teams, FIA and FOM will allow the manufacturers to leave F1 if Bernie stays in power in case he is convicted.

Interesting times ahead!

 

Hahahaha we want F1 clean!!...bloody hell, there not asking much then.

 

I wonder if Hamilton considered this when he opted to go to Mercedes.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

Good point.

 

Do you mean Mercedes leaving F1? I'd say that Bernie is the one to go then... no sponsor of any team would want the PR debacle of indirectly paying a convicted Ecclestone.

 

Bernie is one shrewd slippery eel, he makes money for the teams.

Don't forget the teams believe that the sport exists only to give them all the money, but they have never had the balls nor the nous to set up on their own and deal with the boring and risky stuff that Bernie and the FIA look after for them.

 

If Mercedes issue the ultimatum that "either Bernie goes, or we do", then I would be highly surprised if the rest of the teams stood united behind a convicted Bernie and waved goodbye to Mercedes. However, Bernie is a very Machiavellian character and I wouldn't assume that Mercedes will get unanimous support in trying to oust Bernie either. Rather than watching this from the sidelines with little stake in it, it Hamilton has chosen to go to a team that is central to this dispute.

Hamilton is a very quick driver, but he seems to allow distractions to disrupt his focus and performance... I just wonder if he considered the impact that bringing this issue closer to hand could have on his own performance, and whether it could actually be a threat to his new team's participation in the sport.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

I don't see it happening but given all he's accomplished it would be a bit of a shame to see him forced out.