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| Ron Dennis © Action Images |
Mercedes' decision to buy Formula One champion team Brawn and sell its stake in McLaren is good for all those involved, according to
McLaren co-owner and former team head Ron Dennis.
"This is a win-win situation, for both McLaren and Daimler," Dennis said in a McLaren statement after the deal was announced on
Monday.
"I've often stated that it's my belief that, in order to survive and thrive in 21st-century Formula One, a team must become much
more than merely a team," added the former principal who handed over to Martin Whitmarsh this year. "That being the case, in order
to develop and sustain the revenue streams required to compete and win grands prix and world championships, companies that run Formula One
teams must broaden the scope of their commercial activities."
Daimler chairman Dieter Zetsche, whose company owns Mercedes, told reporters that the relationship with McLaren had been tested by the
Woking company's determination to become a maker of road-going sports cars.
"That was not the interests of Daimler and Mercedes-Benz," he said.
McLaren built a limited edition sports car in the 1990s and plan to market a new MP4-12C car, that would compete against the likes of
Ferrari and Mercedes, in 2011.
"The next few years will be a very exciting time for McLaren, during which period we intend to become an ever-stronger technological
and economic force," said Dennis. "Formula One will always be a core activity, for sound business reasons as well as for
historical sporting reasons."
McLaren said it had agreed a phased buyback of Daimler's 40 per cent stake by 2011.
Dennis and Saudi business partner Mansour Ojjeh each own 15 per cent of the business with 30 per cent held by Bahrain's state holding
company Mumtalakat. McLaren Automotive, headed by Dennis, will be spun out of the main McLaren Group.
Mercedes will continue to supply engines to the team until at least 2015 and possibly longer and the team will continue with their
current livery under the name of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes.
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