Williams has confirmed that is has signed a “long-term” deal with Mercedes from the 2014 season onwards, as predicted here last week.
Mercedes will thus have four engine partners in 2014, and only three in 2015 after McLaren goes to Honda, at least as things stand at the moment.
The deal makes obvious sense given Toto Wolff’s relationship with both parties, and while it hasn’t been mentioned, one could speculate that there could be some co-operation between Mercedes and Williams on other projects.
Sir Frank Williams said: “Mercedes-Benz has been one of the sport’s most successful engine suppliers and we believe that they will have an extremely competitive engine package. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Renault for their continued hard work since we renewed our engine partnership at the beginning of the 2012 season. We have enjoyed a strong relationship that has resulted in much success over the years, including powering us to winning ways once again last year at the Spanish Grand Prix.”
Toto Wolff added: “It is a win-win situation for both HPP and Williams, which will ensure HPP is able to supply at least three teams on a long-term basis under the new regulations and could open interesting new perspectives for technology transfer. We look forward to enjoying much success together over the coming years.”
Meanwhile Renault Sport boss Jean-Michel Jalinier said: “We have stated on numerous occasions that we would supply up to five teams if there was a requirement to do so, but this would not make sense economically or be ideal for our resources.
“Three, or up to four, teams is the ideal for us so the departure of Williams normalizes the situation and makes things much clearer from our side. We will announce the next team [Caterham] within a matter of days, and then confirm the final stage before the end of June. We remain incredibly motivated about the challenge of the 2014 engines.”
Adam Cooper F1 