Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper claimed Monday that Mercedes-Benz's purchase of a majority shareholding in Brawn GP is the reason behind Jenson Button's failure to reach financial terms with the team that he took to the World Championship this season. The paper reports sources within Mercedes as saying their ambition is to have a German champion in one of their cars for the first time in the modern era, which led them to bring ex-Williams driver Nico Rosberg into the team. They fear Rosberg, the son of 1982 World Champion Keke Rosberg, would be outclassed by Button, and that this is why Brawn has refused to meet Button's demands of a big pay increase.
The Mirror says it would be considered a marketing coup at home for Mercedes if its "works team" were to win the world title with a German driver, but that it would be "a PR disaster on an international scale" if Rosberg finished second and were eclipsed by Button.