Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff has conceded the team has felt the loss of Ross Brawn since his recent departure.

Following four years as team principal, after Mercedes bought out his eponymously-named marque Brawn GP following its title successes in 2009, the 59-year-old opted to quit the team at the end of last year.

With Mercedes implementing a new management structure, Brawn felt there was no longer a place for him with the Brackley-based outfit if he was not going to be “the point of reference” as he once described.

The team is now run by Wolff, whose official job title is executive director (business), alongside Paddy Lowe as executive director (technical), and with non-executive chairman Niki Lauda in the background.

Assessing the magnitude of his exit, Wolff said: “There is always an impact when somebody like Ross Brawn leaves. He was an iconic leader.

“We are going to see he will be missed when it gets stressful on race weekends, with his leadership and his kindness, something that was extraordinary.

“Of course, it’s been felt he’s gone, but we are a large organisation and this is why we are trying to build things up.”

Mercedes recruited Lowe from McLaren last year after his many years of service as technical director.

The recent rumour was that Brawn was poised to head in the opposite direction in the wake of the new position of chief executive officer being created on the racing side of the organisation.

Over the weekend, however, Brawn confirmed he was definitely retiring from F1 at a fishing event in Aberdeenshire.