Sakhir, Bahrain - Mercedes could consider its future in Formula One racing if motorsport's governing body FIA imposes "unreasonable" sanctions against the McLaren-Mercedes team over charges of deceiving race stewards, the boss of Daimler has said. In an interview to appear in the German news magazine Focus on Monday, Dieter Zetsche, the chairman of Daimler AG, said the company's future in the sport could come under review.

"If circumstances should change, perhaps because of an unreasonable punishment by the FIA, it is possible that we could consider our engagement," said Zetsche, who is also head of the Mercedes-Benz car division.

According to Focus, the Daimler board will meet on Monday to "debate scenarios for leaving the 250-million-euro (331 million dollars) spectacle."

However Mercedes sports chief Norbert Haug told Germany Press Agency. (dpa)