Mercedes-GP have refused to comment on speculation that Ross Brawn will step down from his position as team principal at the end of the campaign.
Brawn said earlier this season that he could walk away from Mercedes if he is no longer “top dog” at the team.
Brawn’s future has been the subject of speculation ever since Mercedes brought in Paddy Lowe from McLaren, who has been viewed as a potential successor to Brawn.
Reports yesterday claimed Brawn had failed to reach a satisfactory agreement with his employers over his role next season and would therefore leave the team following the last race in Brazil on November 24.
It was suggested that Mercedes would then be run in tandem by two executive directors, Toto Wolff and Lowe, along with non-executive chairman Niki Lauda.
A spokesman for Mercedes did not comment specifically on the story when contacted. He did point out that Lauda had already confirmed Mercedes will not announce anything regarding Brawn’s future until the end of the season, however.
Speaking at the Japanese race at Suzuka, Lauda said: “There’s no decision on how things will be in the long term. My goal is clearly to retain him, but he will only make the decision at the end of the year.”
Given Brawn’s impeccable record in Formula One, it is clear there would be many takers for his services should he depart.
McLaren have already been mentioned as a possible destination, although Brawn himself denied he had spoken to any other team at the start of the month.
Honda return as an engine supplier in 2015, and Brawn ran their previous F1 effort before the team took on his own name when Honda pulled out.
Brawn rose to prominence with Benetton in the 1990s, when he helped guide Michael Schumacher to his first two world titles. He then moved to Ferrari with the German, who went on to win another five drivers’ championships.
After a brief stint with Honda, Brawn set up his own F1 team, which was taken over by Mercedes in 2009.
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