Formula 1: Mercedes-Benz Buy Up Champion Team

This is precisely the time when things in Formula 1 are expected to change a lot. The 3 - 4 months break in between the end of a season and beginning of a new season always sees off track activity, like movement of drivers from one team to another, teams dropping out, new teams coming in, and teams being bought up.

The latest is that Mercedes-Benz has bought over last year's winning team, Brawn GP. The new team will be known as Mercedes Grand Prix, although Ross Brawn will continue to remain team principal. And with this move, Mercedes-Benz has relinquished the 40% stake they had in the McLaren team. Mercedes and McLaren were partners from the 1995 season, ending this year. Norbert Haug, VP - Mercedes-Benz Motorsport, will be working with the F1 team and the engine team of Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines.

Now from the drivers point of view, there will be a few changes there too. World Champion Jenson Button will be moving to McLaren to partner fellow Brit Lewis Hamilton. So there we are going to have an all British driver line up, with one 2008 champion and the other being a 2009 champion. And with Brawn having clinched the team championship in their very first year of competition, things are looking really bright for this team. The other driver transfers are Kimi Raikkonen moving out of Ferrari, and Fernando Alonso taking his place there, leaving a spot open at Renault.

The 2010 season will most likely witness Mercedes Grand Prix doing everything they can to hang on to the top position, both in drivers and team standings, while Ferrari and McLaren will try out all possible means to regain the ground they lost in the season just concluded. Whatever the scenario, fans and spectators will surely be in for some fun.