Last week Mercedes reported that the company is aiming to change Formula One ownership structure.
The company currently owns 60% of the team, whereas Toto Wolff, the team’s CEO and team principal owns a total of 30% and the remaining 10% is owned by investors.
However, under the new structure, the team will see an equal split between Mercedes, Wolff and the British chemical giant Ineos. Toto Wolff is also committed to running the team for the next 3 years and rumor has it that he might jump over to the Aston Martin F1 team where he currently owns a small percentage as well.
These recent developments have put an end to rumors claiming that Mercedes-Benz is planning to completely exit F1 as a constructor in order to reduce costs and redirect funds to their electric and self-driving technology. Ineos, the company developing the Grenadier SUV, is currently a sponsor of the Mercedes F1 team. Along with that the company has also acquired the Smart plant in Hambach, France for the productions of the Grenadier.
As per statements from Mercedes-Benz, the new budget caps that have recently been introduced in F1 from 2021 will allow the team to become more financially sustainable without the support of major auto-makers providing funds to keep them going. It’s worth mentioning here that the news regarding the new ownership structure at Mercedes F1 comes just a week after the McLaren Group announced the sale of a third of their F1 team to MSP Sports Capital, and back in August, the Williams F1 teams was sold off to Dorilton Capital.
Due to the fact that major automakers are now starting to move away from the F1 team, expectations for innovation technologies in the future commercial vehicles are expected given the reduction and re-allocation of funds.
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