Will Brawn move to Honda?

Will Ross Brawn leave Mercedes AMG to join up with Honda’s operation ahead of their return to the sport in 2015?

The Mercedes AMG team principal has been the subject of much speculation throughout the entire 2013 Formula One World Championship.

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.

But while the eventual plan appears to be that Lowe will run the sporting and technical side of the Mercedes AMG team and Toto Wolff will run the business and political side of the team, they still believe that Brawn does have a role to play at the team.

‘I am in negotiations with Ross Brawn, There’s no decision on how things will be in the long term. Lauda told the BBC.

‘That’s been the situation for a long time. My goal is clearly to retain him but he will only make the decision at the end of the year.’

Lauda wouldn’t be drawn on whether talks include him remaining as team principal, but that appears unlikely as Mercedes appear to be shifting away from that model of management.

So what other options are available for the 58-year-old?

Talk of Brawn buying Toto Wolff’s share in the Williams Formula One team has already been dismissed as pure speculation, while the BBC also believe that there is nothing in the rumours linking him with McLaren following their switch from Mercedes to Honda.

According to German newspaper Bild, the Japanese manufacturer wants Brawn to lead its Formula 1 programme next season, which of course would work closely with McLaren.

But what does Brawn want? As recently as July Brawn said he wanted to remain at Mercedes ‘We’re in good shape for next year. I wouldn’t want to miss the fun,’ but surely that all depends on what role Mercedes actually offer.