Williams will continue to use Mercedes units after Formula 1 introduces new power unit regulations in 2026.
The team and manufacturer jointly announced an extension the contract between them. Williams will remain a Mercedes customer until at least 2030.Williams have run Mercedes power units since 2014, when the 1.6-litre V6 hybrid turbo power units were first introduced into the sport. They are Mercedes’ second-longest running power unit customers after Aston Martin, who have raced with Brixworth-built Mercedes power units since 2009, when they were racing under the identity of Force India. However their deal will conclude at the end of next year.
McLaren, which used Mercedes power from 1995 to 2015 and resumed in 2019, have already agreed a contract extension into the new power unit era.
Williams team principal James Vowles joined the team from Mercedes at the start of last season. He said Mercedes is the ideal choice for Williams to enter the new power unit formula.
“The expertise, support and technology that Mercedes brings to the table align perfectly with our team’s aspirations in the medium and long term,” he said.
“This long-term agreement with Mercedes is a positive step and forms part of our objectives for the future, whilst we will still retain our design and manufacturing expertise and capabilities in-house.”
Mercedes team principal and head of motorsport Toto Wolff said he expects that Williams will continue to move further towards the front of the field in the years to come.
“Today’s news highlights the strength of the Mercedes-Benz offering in F1 and importantly not only validates, but reinforces, our overall motorsport strategy,” Wolff said.
“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.”
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slowmo (@slowmo)
8th January 2024, 15:07
I think this is a very important move for Mercedes as well as Williams. When Honda rejoined F1 it was obvious how difficult it was for them to make progress while only having the mileage of one team. Renault also suffered with losing testing mileage when they lost RBR. The extra information they’ll be able to obtain having secured other teams to use their engines could prove vital when the new engine formula starts, especially with the potential of new suppliers entering the fray. Obviously not surprising news but I think it will be welcomed all the same by both parties.
Jungle
9th January 2024, 10:29
Along with McLaren it will be a 3 pronged attack
MichaelN
8th January 2024, 15:28
That’s not really what Williams said when they were challenging at the front of the grid in 2014 and 2015; instead there were multiple complaints that the Mercedes-appointed engine officials disallowed the use of special engine modes for ‘reliability concerns’ when Williams had a(n admittedly) rare opportunity to race a Mercedes for position.
But anyway, it makes sense for both Williams and Mercedes to keep this deal going. Especially now that they’re on (near) opposite sides for the grid. And given the very prescriptive way the 2026 engine regulations are drawn up, the actual engine likely won’t make much difference to the teams anyway so going through the trouble of making changes is more of a distraction than a bonus.
anon
9th January 2024, 20:23
MichaelN, and what are the sources that you have for those allegations? After all, wasn’t Sainz, when he was back at Toro Rosso, complaining that Williams were able to beat them precisely because Williams had access to those higher powered engine maps that allowed them to eke out more performance in qualifying and in the races?
XM
9th January 2024, 4:54
You could say that Williams is now and has been for several years, Merc’s sister team. They’re just not as brazen and upfront about it as RB is with AT.
Tristan
9th January 2024, 5:25
Errr, not at all no. Mercedes does not own Williams as Red Bull owns 2 teams. No 2 teams in F1 have anything near the relationship Red Bull has with its 2 teams (unless it’s happening at some unknowable shareholder insider-trading level).
Dex
9th January 2024, 8:09
Being owned by the same corporation is just one of the ways to be connected (and the most open way I guess). Williams depends on Mercedes for many years now. Engine deal is a pretty big thing, they had to use their drivers too from time to time, or let them take them back. Now their team boss is someone who directly came from Mercedes, which is not a coincidence. Wolff is a man of influence at Williams even today, no doubt. Besides, it’s hard not to notice his condescending tone whenever he talks about this team or their people. It’s just the way it is. Williams is not a B team like Torro Whatever, but is not an A team either. Are they B+ or A- team… I guess they are trying to develop into something more, but their owner cares only about resell value.
I think that Haas and Williams were pretty close to being Torro Rosso for many years (Haas since day 1).
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
9th January 2024, 22:53
Remember it’s toro rosso, the colour has 2 r and the animal has 1!
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
9th January 2024, 22:54
Colour has 2 s, I meant.
Ferdinand
9th January 2024, 7:18
I agree. Financial interests are mingled. The fact they continue with Mercedes engines shouldn’t be a surprise, it is rather a given. The ties are similar as with RedBull although not made as transparent.
Tristan
9th January 2024, 8:11
Can you please explain how you think an engine customer (which has been around forever) is even remotely similar to one entity owning and running 2 teams. Normalising Red Bull’s situation by saying other teams are doing anything remotely similar is strange.
Ludewig
9th January 2024, 10:19
The relationship between Williams and Mercedes is way closer than just being an engine customer. First of all, they are now sharing gear boxes and hydraulics as well.
Secondly, Toto Wolff used to be a major shareholder in Williams and was executive director for a year before becoming the head of the Mercedes team.
Thirdly, the current team principal of Williams came from Mercedes. Vowles never actually worked for anyone but Mercedes, which makes him very likely to run to Mercedes whenever he wants something from another team. Alpha Tauri’s leadership presumably have more knowledge of and contacts in other teams, as both Tost and Mekies have more diverse backgrounds.
Fourthly, Mercedes has ‘bought’ a seat at Williams for Russell.
Fifthly, the team principle of Mercedes was the manager of a Williams driver at the time, which was a clear example of one team being involved with the other team.
Sixth, Toto has threatened Russell with consequences for his career if he raced Mercedes drivers too hard. Ironically, this means that despite all the fuss about Alpha Tauri drivers potentially not racing hard against Red Bull drivers, there is actually only one clear example of an order for a driver to not fight a related team, for the benefit of that team, and that was between Mercedes and Williams.
I don’t think that you can name any other two teams that have a closer relationship than Mercedes & Williams, other than RB and Alpha Tauri. And Ferdinand is completely right that the ties between the latter may be stronger legally, but there are a lot of indications for strong informal connections between the former. The principal of one team giving orders to the driver of another team to not fight his own drivers is a really good example.
Tristan
9th January 2024, 20:52
Let’s go point by point:
Aston Martin also uses Merc gearboxes.
Used to be, being the key phrase…
People move teams all the time. This doesn’t mean they’re still working for the team they come from. Vowles is is his own person, just are all the people are that have left Mercedes.
456 are all the same point. It’s one example of one team placing one driver at another team for a few years which is now over (Wherlein was another). Red Bull are constantly doing that with their second team with both drivers. If Wolff had ordered his driver to do something; Williams could say no that’s nonsense, you drive for us, ignore that order. That would never happen with Red Bulls second team, because Red Bull own both from top to bottom. Everyone who works at Red Bulls second team works for Red Bull.
The two situations are still, in my assessment, nothing remotely similar.
anon
9th January 2024, 21:57
Ludewig, actually, it would be rather trivial to demonstrate that there are multiple teams with far closer relationships between them than Williams and Mercedes.
For a start, just look at the relationship between Ferrari and Haas, where part of Haas’s design team is based in Ferrari’s Gestione Sportiva complex. Haas rents Ferrari’s wind tunnel for development, it sometimes rents some of Ferrari’s simulator equipment and their Technical Director – Simone Resta – is a Ferrari employee that is on secondment at Haas. Steiner, meanwhile, is on public record as saying that half of their aerodynamics team are either ex-Ferrari staff or, like Simone Resta, are Ferrari employees that are on secondment with Haas.
As for buying in components, Haas’s entire operating model is critically dependent on buying in the maximum number of components it can from Ferrari. Gearboxes, hydraulics, electronic systems, suspension components, crash structures – Haas buys all of those, and far more, from Ferrari.
As for drivers, let us not forget that Ferrari has bought seats at Haas for their drivers too. In 2017, Antonio Giovinazzi was working for Haas as a reserve driver at the same time as being a reserve driver for Ferrari, as well as driving a Haas car during free practice sessions.
In 2021 and 2022, meanwhile, Mick Schumacher, who was employed both in Ferrari’s Driver Academy and directly by Ferrari as a nominated reserve driver for their team, also drove for Haas. Pietro Fittipaldi also appears to owe his job as Haas’s reserve driver thanks to his work for Ferrari (as well as that of his brother, Enzo, who was also employed by Ferrari’s Driver Academy).
Ferrari has also traditionally had far closer ties with Sauber than Williams have ever had with Mercedes. Sauber have been buying Ferrari’s gearboxes, hydraulic systems and electrical components since 2010 (Sauber started building their own gearbox casing in 2022, but the internal components are all built by Ferrari), and up until 2022 they were also purchasing front and rear suspension components from Ferrari too. Indeed, you only have to go back a couple of years to find that Sauber’s cars had the entire transmission system, rear crash structure and rear suspension all lifted straight from Ferrari’s cars.
Once again, you would also find in technical staff between Ferrari and Sauber too – the ever active Simone Resta, for example, was also temporarily on loan from Ferrari to Sauber. In terms of technical research, meanwhile, Ferrari began joint research projects with Sauber in the 1990s (during Sauber’s first period as a Ferrari customer team), and Sauber have confirmed that some of those technical agreements will still be active until 2025.
Sauber and Ferrari have also collaborated on sharing wind tunnel facilities – Ferrari routinely used Sauber’s wind tunnel in the past, whilst following a programme of upgrades by Ferrari to their wind tunnel, Sauber has also made use of Ferrari’s wind tunnel too.
As for Ferrari buying seats for their drivers at Sauber – well, you have with Ferrari sending Felipe Massa to Sauber from 2002 to 2005, Sergio Perez in 2010, Antonio Giovinazzi (reserve driver from 2017 to 2018, and then a race driver from 2019 to 2021) and Charles Leclerc in 2018.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
9th January 2024, 23:57
Tristan, try to see it from russell’s pov, let’s say wolff tells him to not race mercedes drivers hard, or else he won’t give him a mercedes seat when it frees up, and williams tell him to ignore this team order, then russell would have to compromise his chances at a top team? It doesn’t matter what williams said, he was effectively forced to obey wolff if he wanted a competitive car eventually.
Tristan
10th January 2024, 1:25
@esploratore1, I agree with that… Not saying it was a good situation for Russell, just that it’s very different to the Red Bull situation. Not even Tost would be able to argue with an order from (M.) Mateschitz.
Ferdinand
10th January 2024, 9:12
Thank you Ludwig, that was indeed what I was referring to. Williams is the sister team of Mercedes. Similar to many other relations between teams.
RR
9th January 2024, 9:38
Would be a hoot if Ferrari produced the runaway winner for the new regs.
Ludewig
10th January 2024, 7:59
@Tristan
Hmmmm, it’s hard to have a proper discussion when you read what you want to read, rather than what I wrote. And if you take absolutely no ownership of your own words and refuse to take back your words when I prove them to be falsehoods (like that Merc are only an engine supplier, which you claimed, but is factually wrong).
So I’m just going to point out that it is utterly ridiculous to claim that Toto didn’t have leverage over Russell by dangling a Mercedes contract in front of his nose. Do you seriously want to claim that Russell would value his Williams contract over a Mercedes contract? And that ignores that his Williams contract only existed because he was a paid driver with financing from Mercedes, so his Williams contract wasn’t even safe if he fought the Mercedes drivers as hard as possible and thereby made Toto angry. So it makes zero sense for him to ignore Toto’s orders, especially since he obviously wouldn’t get sacked for driving gingerly around Merc drivers, but could face serious repercussions for driving into one of them again.