Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsManor

Manor deal strengthens F1 grid - Wolff

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says the deal to supply Manor with power units in 2016 strengthens the current F1 grid.

A number of teams are facing uncertain futures, with Red Bull threatening to quit if it does not receive a competitive power unit and Renault attempting to take over Lotus. With the Lotus deal meaning Mercedes will no longer supply the Enstone team it has taken on a new customer in Manor and Wolff says it will help increase competitin.

"Mercedes-Benz has a clear Formula One philosophy based around our works Silver Arrows team and supplying benchmark Power Units to independent customer teams," Wolff said. "We believe this approach provides Formula One with greater strength in depth and ensures a deeper level of competitiveness throughout the field.

"In anticipation of Renault's takeover of the Lotus F1 Team, we are pleased to announce Manor Marussia as a new customer of Mercedes-Benz. It is a tenacious team with a fantastic competitive spirit, and we are all excited to see what step forward they can make next year with their new car coupled with the Mercedes-Benz Hybrid Power Unit."

Manor has been using 2014 Ferrari power units so far this season but will use "current-year" Mercedes engines from 2016 onwards.

CONFIRMED: McLaren retains Button for 2016

Take a look at the technical updates from Singapore and Japan

Click here for the F1 drivers' girlfriends gallery

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.