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F1: Mercedes moving closer to Brawn branding deal

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Khatir Soltani
From GMM

Mercedes-Benz may be moving closer to adding corporate branding to the cars of the championship-dominating team Brawn GP.

The Brackley based team's use of the Stuttgart marque's engines this year is simply a customer deal, but the package has won five out of the six races so far this season, and is comfortably leading both the drivers' and constructors' championships.

Moreover, Mercedes is increasingly vocal about the success of the collaboration, noting in the post-race press release of the McLaren team after Monaco that Jenson Button "won the last three grands prix (using) the same engine".

In the same race, the highest-placed car (Lewis Hamilton) carrying the three-pointed star finished just twelfth.

Mercedes' racing boss Norbert Haug said last month that branding had not yet been added to the Brawn car because the marque did not want to "divert" from its works relationship with McLaren.

But to the Bild am Sonntag newspaper on Sunday, the German now admits it is a possibility.

"We would not be doing our job if we were not talking about it," Haug said.
Khatir Soltani
Khatir Soltani
Automotive expert
  • Over 8 years experience as a car reviewer
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