LONDON (Reuters) – Mercedes and the Williams Formula One team have announced a contract extension that will see the team continue to use Mercedes engines until at least 2030.
This extension means that Mercedes now has long-term agreements with three of the 10 teams in Formula One, including their own factory team that is led by seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. Another team, McLaren, also inked a similar deal with Mercedes last November.
The new agreement comes ahead of rule changes in 2026, which will shake up the power unit rules in Formula One.
Williams has been powered by Mercedes engines since 2014, and their principal James Vowles previously worked as strategy director at Mercedes before joining Williams a year ago.
James Vowles commented on the partnership, saying, “We have enjoyed a long-term partnership with Mercedes-Benz, and we are thrilled to extend this collaboration into the next era of Formula One.”
He added, “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 objectives for the future, whilst we will still retain our design and manufacturing expertise and capabilities in-house.”
Williams finished seventh overall in the last season, a significant improvement from their 10th place in 2022. The team will continue with the same driver lineup of Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant in 2024.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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