Ecclestone hints Mercedes can live without Brawn

Bernie Ecclestone has suggested Mercedes can cope without its current team boss Ross Brawn.

It has been rumoured Briton Brawn could be pushed out of the Brackley based team altogether, or confined to a merely technical directorship, in the wake of the arrival of Austrian chiefs and shareholders Toto Wolff and Niki Lauda.

Ecclestone told F1 business journalist Christian Sylt: "They have got Toto there and they have got Niki. That will probably be enough."

So far, Wolff has said Mercedes wants Brawn - in a "technical role" - to stay, but also in question is the future of the team’s chief executive, Nick Fry.

Already departed, after a 22-year Mercedes tenure, is Norbert Haug.

"I think the system at Mercedes needs to work," Wolff told cityam.com.

"If you have more good people it is not bad news but I think everybody needs to understand what his role and position is."