Brawn GP have been taken over by German car giant Mercedes-Benz in a deal reported to be worth up to £100million.

They are believed to be keen to turn Brawn into a German superteam, with drivers Nico Rosberg and Nick Heidfeld. That could force Jenson
Button to switch teams to McLaren — where he would form a British dream partnership with Lewis Hamilton.

Mercedes confirmed they will sell their 40 per cent stake in the McLaren Group back to the Surrey-based company, headed by Ron Dennis, but it will continue to supply the McLaren racing team with engines for at least another six years.

Ross Brawn, who masterminded the birth of Brawn GP after Honda quit Formula One last December, will stay as team principal of the re-named
Mercedes GP team but Button's future with them is now in doubt. Brawn's surprising reluctance to give the29-year-old his requested pay rise from £3m to £8m — still well short of the retainers enjoyed by Hamilton and Ferrari newcomer Fernando Alonso — led Button and his manager Richard Goddard to accept an invitation to visit McLaren's headquarters last Friday.

McLaren chief Martin Whitmarsh has made it clear he will pay Button what he wants. And the prospect of having a British superteam, with all the publicity that would go with it, is bound to appeal to the chief sponsors Vodafone. Button is now weighing up his options, with Goddard admitting it is “hard to believe” that Brawn would be willing to let their title-winner go.

Button's manager added: “We are not being greedy. We have already compromised a great deal, but at some point it stops being about money.

“It's a case of where Jenson will feel most comfortable. Loyalty is a huge factor for him. That cannot be overstated.”

Despite the takeover, Mercedes GP will be keeping the team's HQ at Brackley in Oxfordshire. They will race in silver livery, reviving memories of the famous Mercedes Silver Arrows' cars which dominated motor racing before the Second World War.