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A member of Mercedes parent Daimler’s supervisory board has spoken out against the company’s decision to buy the Brawn Formula One team, calling the sport a “costly and controversial circus”.

It was announced on Monday that the German car giant had bought a 75.1 per cent stake in the world championship-winning team along with Abu Dhabi-based investment fund Aabar Investments.

As part of the deal, Mercedes will sell its 40 per cent stake in McLaren back to the British team and Erich Klemm, chairman of Daimler’s Corporate Works Council and an employee representative, believes the end of the McLaren relationship was a “chance to completely leave the costly and controversial circus”.

Klemm reportedly told the DPA news agency: “We cannot understand why the board of directors has immediately started a new Formula One project.

"In the [car] factories, every cent is being turned over three times. The employees are feeling the financial crisis with shorter working hours and loss of income. In these economically difficult times, the company should invest in better marketing of its real cars.”

Some reports claim the Brawn buyout is costing Euros 226m, but Bild newspaper says that Mercedes’ plan is to cut its annual F1 costs to Euros 50m by 2011.