Wednesday 17 December at 12:00 : Dec.17 (GMM) Norbert Haug, in charge of Mercedes-Benz's collaboration with McLaren, has confirmed that job losses will occur as a result of the sport's cost-slashing drive

"The cost reductions will not be without the loss of appointments," he told the German newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau

F1's rules changes for 2009 are expected to cut 30 per cent out of team budgets, and 56-year-old Haug recently called for a 50 per cent slash within two years

He explained that possible cuts to the giant salaries of F1 drivers, including McLaren's new world champion Lewis Hamilton, will be handled internally but in compliance with market forces