Formula 1 team Williams will use Mercedes gearboxes from 2022 after agreeing to “expand its technical collaboration” with the seven-time contractors’ championship winners.
Williams have been powered by Mercedes engines since 2014.
The new partnership will also see Williams use “related hydraulic components” made by Mercedes.
Team principal Simon Roberts said it was a “long-term” deal and “positive step” for the English-based team.
Roberts, a long-time McLaren engineer who joined Williams in May 2020, said the US-owned outfit “will will still retain our design and manufacturing capabilities in-house”.
“Williams is an independent team, but Formula One is always evolving, and as a team we must be agile to react to the current climate in order to put the team in the best position to be competitive on track,” he continued.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said discussions about the “the project” with Williams, bought by US-based investment firm Dorilton Capital in August, had been going on “for some time”.
“For our team, it makes sense in terms of economies of scale to supply another team under the new rules,” Wolff said.
“I am glad we have been able to bring this extension to fruition.”
