Mercedes and McLaren confirmed in late November the two parties would continue their partnership by signing a five-year extension from 2026 when new PU rules come into force.
After being powered by Mercedes since the start of the current turbo-hybrid era, Williams becomes the second F1 team to renew its commitment to the German manufacturer from 2026.
Williams team principal James Vowles, who was Mercedes head of strategy before taking on his current role early last year, said: “We have enjoyed a long-term partnership with Mercedes-Benz, and we are thrilled to extend this collaboration into the next era of Formula 1.
“The expertise, support, and technology that Mercedes brings to the table align perfectly with our team’s aspirations in the medium and long term.
“This long-term agreement with Mercedes is a positive step and forms part of our strategic objectives for the future, whilst we will still retain our design and manufacturing expertise and capabilities in-house.”
The PUs from 2026 will be run on 100 percent sustainable fuel, and feature a single 350kW electric motor, almost three times more powerful than the current MGU-K.
Naturally expressing his delight at the ongoing collaboration with Williams, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport head Toto Wolff said: “Today’s news highlights the strength of the Mercedes-Benz offering in F1 and importantly not only validates but reinforces our overall motorsport strategy.
“Since 2014, we have continued to build and develop our relationship with Williams. As the team continues to put the foundations in place to challenge at the front of the grid, we look forward to supporting them with our power unit supply.”
Building on “the strong relationship” over the years with Williams that started in 2014, chief technology officer Markus Schaefer said: “Their commitment and support to our future power unit strategy is highly valued.
“We look forward to approaching this new rules set together, with the same passion and enthusiasm we did in 2014 and with the aim of achieving similar successes.”
Discussion about this post