The Manor F1 Team will be dumping the Ferrari power unit at the end of the season and making the switch to Mercedes. This supply agreement has been rumored, but was confirmed earlier today.
This new deal comes at the end of the team’s current Ferrari contract. The agreement also states that the team will always receive the current season’s engine and should never have to use power units from the previous seasons. All of this adds fuel to Red Bull’s anger, as their request to purchase engines was denied by Mercedes and Ferrari would only offer them outdated power units. Nevertheless, a new contract with Mercedes will give backmarker team a big boost in performance.
“2015 has been a rebuilding year in every aspect of our operation. Although we have not been able to make the incremental strides in competitiveness that the team has enjoyed in previous seasons, we have put in place a strong foundation from which to progress,” the Manor team principal, John Booth, told the press. “Together with the potential we are seeing with our 2016 car in the wind tunnel, the Mercedes-Benz Power Unit will assist our return to aggressive performance development with effect from next season.”
It may seem strange for any team to supply potential competitors with an engine, but Mercedes feels it is an important thing to do for the sport. “Mercedes-Benz has a clear Formula One philosophy based around our works Silver Arrows team and supplying benchmark Power Units to independent customer teams,” explained Toto Wolff, the current head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport. “We believe this approach provides Formula One with greater strength in depth and ensures a deeper level of competitiveness throughout the field. In anticipation of Renault’s takeover of the Lotus F1 Team, we are pleased to announce Manor Marussia as a new customer of Mercedes-Benz. It is a tenacious team with a fantastic competitive spirit, and we are all excited to see what step forward they can make next year with their new car coupled with the Mercedes-Benz Hybrid Power Unit.”
The Marussia F1 Team made the switch to Ferrari for the 2014 season, during which the team racked up an estimated £15.2 million in debt, making Ferrari the team’s single biggest creditor. When Marussia collapsed at the end of the season and was converted to the Manor F1 Team, they continued their contract with Ferrari.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Scuderia Ferrari for their support for our team over the past two seasons. In 2014, together we shared in the momentous occasion of the team’s first points and in 2015 Ferrari supported us to a degree that was above and beyond the requirements of our partnership agreement,” Booth stated. “Quite simply, we could not have returned to the grid without them pushing extremely hard to support the MR03B, at the same time as focusing on their own 2015 package.”
The Manor F1 Team also announced that they will be resuming their technical partnership with Williams Advanced Engineering, who provides the team’s transmission and suspension components. With the support of so many generous companies like Mercedes, Williams and so many others, the Manor F1 Team should be in a much more competitive position next season.
