Mercedes chief Toto Wolff believes that Formula 1 teams should not easily dismiss the idea of buying shares in the series following the offering from new owner Liberty Media.
Liberty completed its takeover of F1 last month ahead of schedule, with chairman Chase Carey becoming the sport's new CEO following Bernie Ecclestone's resignation.
As part of its plans for acquiring F1, Liberty said it would be reserving $400 million worth shares for the teams to buy should they wish, with a deadline set of July 23 – six months from the date that the takeover was completed – for a final decision to be made.
Speaking to Austrian magazine Trend, Wolff said he expected talks regarding the shares to go on for many months, but that teams should not snub the idea without giving it proper thought.
"This is an idea which one shouldn't dismiss easily," Wolff said, as translated by Reuters .
"But in any case, one must know more about the business case and our role in the whole [F1 project]. Talks about this have only just begun and will probably last for the coming months."
Wolff's comments follow those of Ferrari CEO Sergio Marchionne, who stressed on Friday that teams required clarity from Liberty on its plans for F1 before they could consider buying a stake.
"The issue is not just the question of the financial investment. This is something that we do for a living in a very serious way," Marchionne said.
"The Concorde Agreement expires in 2020. So, becoming a non-voting shareholder in an entity, which effectively keeps us trapped in without knowledge of what 2021 and the later world will look like, it is something I consider unwise."
