Wolff Reacts To New Multi-Year Mercedes-McLaren Collaboration Deal

Monday, 27 November 2023 at 10:00

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff reacted to the new multi-year collaboration deal his team has signed with one of their main competitors - McLaren.

Mercedes has been the supplier of power units for the McLaren F1 team since the beginning of the 2021 season when McLaren decided to switch from Renault.

The ongoing collaboration has been extended to run until at least 2030, crucially for McLaren, running through technical changes in 2026.

The 2026 technical changes prescribe a new kind of power unit which will be half combustion engine running on sustainable fuel and half running on electrical power.

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Mercedes seems to be one of the most capable F1 works teams (teams who manufacture their own engines) when it comes to producing engines.

McLaren F1 team's CEO Zak Brown said Mercedes has been a brilliant and reliable partner to his team and that the extension in contract signifies his confidence in Mercedes. Toto Wolff also reacted to the new deal as according to racingnews365, he said:

"It has been a cornerstone of our motorsport strategy to work with strong customer teams. This has many advantages: it gives a clear competitive benchmark, accelerates our technical learning, and strengthens the overall F1 business case for Mercedes-Benz."

McLaren has made huge steps forward throughout the 2023 season and went from the back of the grid to competing for the podium in almost every single race.

"McLaren has been fierce and fair competitor since 2023, especially in the second half of this season."

The papaya team has become an equal competitor to works teams like Mercedes and Ferrari. Wolff takes it as proof of transparent and equal supply to every single customer team of Mercedes. He concluded:

"McLaren’s strong performances underline the importance of transparent and equal supply to all customer teams in the sport, if we wish to achieve the goal of 10 teams capable of fighting for podium finishes."