Williams To Use Mercedes Engines From Start of 2014 F1 Season

Mercedes was one of the first to unveil its new turbocharged V-6 engine developed for next year’s season, which sees radical new regulations come into play.

The new engine, which is still under development at the Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains division in Brixworth, U.K., consists of a turbocharged 1.6-liter V-6 and a new Energy Recovery System (ERS) that comes with its own pair of electric motor-generators.
Under the terms of the deal, Williams will be supplied with the full Mercedes Power Unit, which includes the engine and ERS. However,  the team will continue to manufacture its own transmission.

Williams’ current engine supplier, Renault, has also revealed its new engine for the 2014 season. It’s not clear why Williams has chosen to switch engines, but it may have to do with the fact that one of its key shareholders, Austrian Toto Wolff, was recently appointed as an executive at Mercedes.
Speaking about the new engine partnership, Williams F1 Team founder and Team Principal Sir Frank Williams said, “I’m delighted to announce our new association with Mercedes-Benz for the 2014 Formula One season and beyond. Mercedes-Benz has been one of the sport’s most successful engine suppliers and we believe that they will have an extremely competitive engine package.”

Force India has also elected to use Mercedes’ engine and current partner McLaren will stick with the Mercedes engine in 2014 but will switch over to a new Honda powerplant at the start of the 2015 season.

Today’s news comes just a day after it was revealed that the Williams F1 Team had appointed a new CEO in the form of Mike O’Driscoll. The former Jaguar boss will see the Williams F1 Team and the separate Williams Advanced Engineering division united under a single management structure for the first time.

Courtesy of Motor Authority