A report in German tabloid Sport Bild on Monday suggested that Brawn informed
the team’s non-executive chairman, Niki Lauda, over the Korean Grand Prix
weekend that he would quit at the end of the season, with the report adding
that he may switch to a new role with Honda.
However, Lauda rejected that report on Monday, claiming that negotiations were
ongoing.
“There’s no decision on how things will be in the long term,” Lauda said. “My
goal is clearly to retain him, but he will only make the decision at the end
of the year.”
The Honda link is interesting as from 2015 the Japanese manufacturer will be
providing engines to McLaren, whose team principal, Martin Whitmarsh, told
The Telegraph in Korea last weekend that his outfit had made some
“headline-grabbing” technical signings that had not yet been announced.
There are relatively few people in the paddock who could be classified as
headline-grabbing.
Brawn was also in charge of Honda’s last foray into Formula One, eventually
buying out the Japanese manufacturer to form Brawn GP in 2009. Sources at
McLaren’s Woking base, however, insisted that speculation linking Brawn with
the team was wide of the mark.