Brawn to leave Mercedes?

Ross Brawn and Mercedes have failed to reach an agreement for Brawn's role within the team beyond this year, forcing Ross Brawn out of the team by the end of the season.

British broadcaster BBC has learned from several sources within the team that a deal could not be agreed upon.

Brawn himself made it clear back in Japan that he was very willing to stay at the team, but only if he was to retain a central role within the team. Mercedes however believe a management structure with a single team principal is outdated due to the complexities of modern Formula One. It is believed that Brawn's requirements were never acceptable for the team, resulting in stalled negotiations that have supposedly forced Brawn into deciding to leaving the team.

The team have declined to make a comment on the report thus far.

Englishman Brawn was previously at Benetton and Ferrari where he played a big role into Michael Schumacher's championship titles. He then moved on to become team principal at Honda, but as they left the sport, Brawn bought the team for a reported symbolic dollar, ending up with the championship winning Brawn GP squad. He continued to lead the team after the sale to Mercedes but has now seemingly reached a dead end.

If the report is confirmed, the Mercedes F1 team will be lead by its two current executive directors, Toto Wolff, responsible for business matters, and Paddy Lowe, responsible for the sporting side.