P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Ineos has been in partnership with Mercedes for several years and owns one-third of the eight-time constructors’ champions.
Mercedes denied the speculation of buying out Ineos’ stake in the team, as reported by Telegraph Sport. Ineos, along with Daimler and team principal Toto Wolff, currently own one-third of the Mercedes F1 team. While the partnership structure has been in place for several years, tensions arose last year leading to talks of Mercedes acquiring Ineos’ stake. Ineos founder Jim Ratcliffe ultimately recommitted to the sport despite the potential buyout. The reduced branding from Ineos on the new W16 Mercedes challenger was explained by Mercedes as a strategy to open up commercial opportunities for other brands. Amidst this news, Ratcliffe has been under scrutiny for financial cutbacks in various sports ventures, prompting legal actions from entities like New Zealand Rugby and America’s Cup team led by Ben Ainslie, with Mercedes now entering the F1 season without Lewis Hamilton.
