“We would not be doing our job if we were not talking about it,” Mercedes motorsport director Norbert Haug was quoted as saying to Bild am Sonntag newspaper during the course of this weekend.
A few weeks ago, it was the same Haug that admitted the Brawn GP branding as a possibility, while insisting that wouldn't lead to the German constructor pulling their works support from McLaren.
The Mercedes-Brawn GP deal, signed only a few weeks before the season opener this year, was initially looked upon as a customer collaboration between the two companies. However, after the BGP 001 was first to the chequered flag on 5 occasions this season (out of 6 races), fitting the cars with the three-points star is becoming more appealing by the week.
Mercedes have themselves noticed, through a media release following the Monaco Grand Prix, that Jenson Button won three consecutive races with the same engine. That makes the Stuttgart build power plants officially the most efficient long-lasting engine in the history of modern Formula One.
With the latest news rumors suggesting that McLaren are on their way to scrapping their 2009 campaign after the Turkish Grand Prix, Merc's moving interest to Brawn GP for the remainder of the season seems more probable. An official statement on the matter is expected, however, soon after the Istanbul race this weekend.
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