Towards a rapprochement between Mercedes and Toro Rosso?
The announced agreement between Toro Rosso and Falcon Private Bank could have more implications than just a sponsorship contract. Indeed, the 100% owner of the Swiss bank is none other than Aabar, the investment fund of Abu Dhabi. Moreover, it also controls 40% of Mercedes GP and 9% of Daimler, which could result in a closer relationship between the two teams.
Thus, according to Joe Saward, the agreement would also include a shareholder component, in addition to simple sponsorship. If the information were to be confirmed, it would mean that an engine supply contract could be considered between the two teams in order to establish special relations between the two structures.
Moreover, this would explain the reason for such a massive presence within the team: both sides of the front wings of Sébastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari’s single-seaters, as well as above their legs and on the front of the radiators. To this, one must add a presence on the drivers’ and mechanics’ suits of the team.
To support his thesis, Joe Saward recalls that Aabar has just repurchased the Spanish oil company CEPSA from Total. Given that Jaime Alguersuari is still a driver for the Faenza team, a forthcoming appearance of the CEPSA logo on the cars of Sébastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari would therefore not be impossible in the short or medium term.
Nevertheless, such an alliance presents certain drawbacks and significant obstacles. Firstly, the main shareholder would certainly remain Red Bull. Even though the energy drink company had indicated in the past that it might seek to disengage, it would seem somewhat surprising for it to do so now, as Toro Rosso is an excellent outlet for the many drivers who are part of the development program established by Red Bull.
Moreover, Mercedes GP still has the ambition to quickly compete for the title. This would already mean battling against the customer team McLaren but also taking the risk of sharing important information with the little sister of another significant rival, namely Red Bull Racing.
With the participation of RacingBusiness.fr
