Mercedes to quit F1? (2nd Update)

Wolff denies rumors

UPDATE This rumor is downgraded to 'false' now. Eddie Jordan's claims had angered Mercedes boss Toto Wolff in particular, who said it was unfair to spread rumors about the future of a team that employed so many people.

"I told him I'm ready for any banter with Eddie," said Wolff. "But for me I stop laughing when it's about making jokes on the back of 1500 employees that care about their future.

"And I said it in an interview with him, that this is a too serious a topic for me.

"We are not leaving F1, none of our sponsors are leaving F1, we are pretty happy where we are.

"He should just stop putting these rumors – fake news – out in the world."

06/08/17 (GMM) Mercedes has reacted angrily to Eddie Jordan's claim the German carmaker might pull out of formula one.

Jordan, a former team owner and boss who is now a controversial broadcaster, told Germany's Auto Bild in Monaco recently that he thinks Mercedes will quit after next season.

A spokesman for Daimler, the Mercedes-Benz parent, told the German newsmagazine Focus: "The reports are wrong.

"No considerations are being given to withdrawing from formula one."

However, Jordan said he made his comments only after speaking with Daimler chairman Dieter Zetsche recently in Monaco.

"I had a long conversation with Dr Zetsche, I told him my thoughts, and I did not get the feeling that he thought I was wrong," he said.

But Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff slammed Jordan's comments.

"Monaco is a place where people like to party and it seems like somebody did a bit too much of that," he said.

"The reports are completely baseless and reflect nothing more than the mischievous speculation of one individual.

"Mercedes has firm contracts until the end of 2020, and is currently in discussions about the next competitive cycle with the sport's new owners," Wolff told DPA news agency.

Eddie Jordan says Mercedes will quit

06/07/17 (GMM) Eddie Jordan has tipped Mercedes to quit formula one after the 2018 season.

A former team owner and boss, British broadcaster Jordan has become known as something of a paddock oracle, successfully predicting multiple developments including Michael Schumacher's comeback.

And now he thinks Mercedes is close to quitting the sport it dominated between 2014 and last year.

When asked if he thinks Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel will switch to the German marque next year, Jordan told Auto Bild: "No.

"He has everything he needs at Ferrari. And also because Mercedes will probably pull the plug at the end of 2018," the Irishman added.

"I think they will go for the titles this and next year and then the board of directors in Stuttgart will decide to sell the team and stay only as an engine maker.

"I would do the same," Jordan explained, "because Mercedes have won everything and can only get worse from now. So it's better to go back to their old core business in formula one, which is developing and delivering high tech engines."

And that, Jordan insists, is one of the factors Vettel will consider when deciding to ink a new Ferrari contract for 2018 and beyond.

"If Vettel suspects this, it really makes no sense for him to leave Ferrari," he said.