Autoblog

Insiders are predicting that DaimlerChrysler will be buying out McLaren very soon, a move that McLaren chief Ron Dennis apparently welcomes.

Mercedes-Benz and McLaren already have very close relations. For starters, Mercedes is McLaren's engine partners in Formula One. The two also collaborated on the SLR project, which is anticipated to be followed by more supercars in the future. Mercedes also already owns forty percent of the British outfit.

[Source: GrandPrix.com]

The remaining sixty percent is owned by Dennis and his partner Mansour Ojjeh, but that could change in the near future. Insiders say the last remaining obstacle is fiscal timing, meaning that, literally, it's just a matter of time until Mercedes completes the buyout, which some say has already been negotiated, just not yet announced.

Given the two companies' close collaboration, we wouldn't be surprised, especially in light of the increased ownership of F1 teams by major automotive manufacturers. Honda recently bought out what was previously the BAR-Honda team. BMW took over Sauber. Renault bought out the Benetton team just a few seasons ago. Toyota has their own team, and Fiat's baby Ferrari has been running their show since the dawn of F1. The Mercedes buyout of McLaren will only be the latest such move.