“There was no voting by the Daimler board of management concerning Formula One. Apart from this it is correct that we continue our commitment,” revealed a spokesman from Daimler AG earlier today.
Rumors about a potential withdrawal of both Mercedes-Benz and BMW from Formula 1 have emerged following a media report from German magazine Focus earlier this week. According to the aforementioned publication, Daimler AG chief executive Dieter Zetsche had asked for a vote from the company's management board concerning the continuance of their F1 operations.
The vote was eventually FOR the staying in Formula 1, but the decision was allegedly made with a 3-to-2 score. More, it has emerged – still through Focus magazine's sources – that Daimler AG have agreed to partner McLaren for 2009 also, but did not mention whether the collaboration would continue further more.
At the same time, the aforementioned source revealed that BMW's future in Formula 1 would depend on their ability to clinch this year's manufacturer title. The German manufacturer invested plenty of money in developing the Kinetic Energy Recover System for 2009 – along with several other F1-related investments – and are demanding the world title in exchange of a future collaboration with Sauber F1 team
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