Brawn set to leave Mercedes

It would seem that the speculation throughout the year was after all correct.

Before the 2013 FIA Formula One World Championship began rumours began to emerge that Mercedes AMG team principal Ross Brawn’s days at the team were numbered.

Brawn had been holding talks with Mercedes for several weeks, but it become clear that the new management model being adopted by the German manufacturer was a clear stumbling block and Brawn made his feelings public at the Japanese Grand Prix.

At the start of the season it was thought that Mercedes non-executive chairman Niki Lauda and Mercedes sports boss Toto Wolff had intended to remove Brawn from his role following the addition of Paddy Lowe in January.

Lowe only began his new role as executive director (technical) in June after leaving McLaren as technical director.

The eventual plan appeared to be that Lowe would run the sporting and technical side of the Mercedes AMG team alongside Aldo Costa, Bob Bell and Geoff Willis as senior technical staff. Toto Wolff would then run the business and political side of the team, but Lauda earlier this month insisted that Brawn could remain the teams leader and that the decision was solely down to Brawn as to whether he stayed with Mercedes or left the team.

That decision appears to have now been made with both the BBC and Sky Sports breaking the news on Tuesday.

Mercedes themselves are yet to comment on the reports.

However Sky Sports F1 commentator Martin Brundle has revealed that Brawn as intimated to him that he will be leaving the team at the end of the season.

‘Ross made it clear that his future at the team wasn’t long-term; it was certainly short and probably not even medium term, My conversations with Ross are that he thinks it’s the right time to step away.

‘I expect that he’ll step away from Mercedes at the end of the year, yes.’

Brawn has previously been linked with a switch to McLaren and to Honda ahead of their return to the sport in 2015 and there has also been talk of Brawn buying Toto Wolff’s share in the Williams Formula One team.

Whilst all of the above rumours have been denied it is thought a number of Formula One teams would show an interest if it were clear the 58-year-old was set to become available.