Official: Manor to be powered by Mercedes in 2016

The engine suppliers’ transfer market is active: in 2016, as we learned this Thursday, Manor will now be powered by Mercedes instead of Ferrari. Toto Wolff, the President of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport, explains clearly in the official statement that this decision is linked to the future acquisition of Lotus by Renault: “In order to anticipate the acquisition of Lotus by Renault, we are delighted to announce that Manor Marussia is a new customer of Mercedes-Benz. It is a tenacious team with a fantastic competitive spirit, and we are all excited to see what progress they can make next year with their new car coupled with the Mercedes-Benz Power Unit.”

Manor Marussia raced this year with a 2014 Ferrari V6. Next season should therefore constitute a significant leap forward in the team’s progression, which obviously delights John Booth, the team director: « Although there were numerous factors guiding our choice of an engine partner to help us progress toward our long-term ambitions, the strength of the Mercedes-Benz package ultimately spoke for itself. 2015 was a year of rebuilding. (…) Although we were not able to make continuous progress in competitiveness, unlike last season, we laid strong foundations on which we can build to make progress. With the potential of our 2016 car that we see in the wind tunnel, the Mercedes Power Unit should aid our return in terms of aggressive developments next season. »

John Booth also had a word for Ferrari: « I would like to take this opportunity to thank Scuderia Ferrari for their support of our team during the past two seasons. (…) We simply could not have returned to the grid without them and their very committed support of the MR03B, while, at the same time, they were focused on their 2015 package ».

Manor Marussia will also renew its partnership with Williams and will therefore receive transmission and suspension parts from the Grove-based team, also powered by Mercedes.