(Lotus F1 Team)
Following months of speculation, the Lotus F1 Team have announced that they will receive a supply of Mercedes Benz 1.6 litre V6 power units from the start of next season ending their long term relationship with French manufacturer Renault who have been involved with the Enstone outfit through their various guises from the day of Benetton, to the Renault 'works' team up until the present day.
The Lotus/Renault partnership has been very successful in recent season's and despite a difficult season in 2014 they can end their partnership with fond memories of their success.
The Enstone outfit can now look forward to building a new relationship with Mercedes Benz as they embark on this exciting journey. They will take over from McLaren as Mercedes fourth supply team. The news comes as the team prepare for the inaugural Russian Grand Prix at the Sochi circuit this weekend.
Speaking as they mande the announcement Lotus F1 Team CEO, Matthew Carter commented by saying:
'We are pleased to have been chosen by Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains in a significant long term deal. We intend to return to the front of the field with the goals of winning Grands Prix and being a strong championship contender once more and we see this new agreement as one step towards this aim.
The Mercedes-Benz Power Unit has shown good performance on track and it is our goal to marry this motive force to Enstone’s chassis expertise. It is our desire that the E23 Hybrid, powered by Mercedes-Benz, heralds a new era of success for Enstone. At this juncture we would also like to thank Renault, who have been so closely associated with the team over its history and for the joint success we have achieved together.'
Mercedes are on target to win both the Driver's and Constructors championship this season while the Williams Martini Racing Team who are powered by the German manufacturer are well placed to finish in third place in this year's Constructors championship.
Speaking about the company's new partnership with Lotus, Andy Cowell Managing Director of Mercedes AMG HPP stated:
'We are delighted to welcome Lotus F1 Team as a customer of Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains from the 2015 season. Lotus F1 Team is a strong technical group with excellent facilities and I am confident that together we will deliver a step forward in track performance next year.
In 2014, the organisation at Brixworth has demonstrated that it can support three customer teams to the high standards expected of Mercedes-Benz, in addition to our focus on the works Silver Arrows. We are very pleased to have the opportunity to continuing doing so from 2015, as we seek to make further gains in both performance and reliability.'
Mercedes Benz Head of Motorsport Toto Wolff concluded by saying:
'It was strategically important for Mercedes-Benz to continue to supply three customers throughout this generation of Power Unit, in addition to the primary focus on our Silver Arrows works team, and it was therefore clear that we would be looking for a new customer from 2015.
Lotus F1 Team is an impressive organisation that has delivered competitive on-track performances in recent seasons. We are pleased to welcome them to the Mercedes-Benz family and look forward to building a productive and performant working relationship in the years ahead.'
The announcement means that Mercedes will remain with their compliment of powering four team's in Formula One including their 'works' team.
© Ben Johnston 2014
No comments:
Post a Comment