As Mercedes enjoys the weird position of spectator as Ferrari and Purple Bull battle for the titles, it isn’t stunning that some are questioning the German group’s future.
In current weeks the same old suspects have run all method of tales in regards to the Silver Arrows and driver Lewis Hamilton, amongst them British tabloid the Every day Specific, which has kind for operating the form of clickbait headlines that will embarrass the Nationwide Enquirer or Sunday Sport.
Among the many doom and gloom tales in current weeks there has even been discuss of Mercedes quitting F1 completely, a transfer vehemently denied by Ola Kallenius, Chairman of the Administration Board of Mercedes-Benz.
“F1 may be very related and we are going to stay,” he stated at a enterprise occasion this week, insisting that the game’s growing transfer in direction of sustainability is a significant component.
He additionally cited the game’s present “growth”, primarily caused by the Drive to Survive collection.
“It has modified the sport, so we’re completely satisfied to be a part of this present and to be one of many strengths of System 1, leveraging it for each our know-how growth and advertising.
“There may be vital progress, significantly among the many youthful technology,” he continued. “So far as we’re involved, F1 has a shiny future forward of it.”
The overhaul of the engine method in 2026 which ought to see the game transfer additional in direction of electrification is already attracting the likes of fellow German producers Porsche and Audi, and like them Kallenius believes that classes realized from the race observe will profit the core enterprise.
“We’ve determined to go down this path of decarbonisation,” he advised the Monetary Occasions Way forward for the Automotive summit. “It’s the solely resolution we are able to make, and the identical goes for System 1.
“A sport like System 1 has to placed on a present, so the decarbonisation route needs to be taken,” he continued. “The following engine rules will give rather more significance to the electrical half, and there’s a clear dedication to make System 1 CO2 impartial.
“For the subsequent regulation, the proportion of electrical energy used on a lap will improve, however we’re not but on the stage the place we are able to run a race like we noticed in Abu Dhabi with solely battery energy. Battery know-how isn’t but perfected, however going CO2-free and placing extra emphasis on electrification ensures F1 stays very related.
“There’ll nonetheless be a combustion engine, however it is going to be used as a laboratory to develop CO2-free fuels, which the aviation business will in all probability want, and possibly additionally to scale back the footprint of the prevailing automobile fleet.”
Apparently, his remark comes at a time Mercedes has opted to promote its championship successful System E group to McLaren because it withdraws from the ‘true electrical’ collection.
The Mercedes F1 operation is owned in three equal elements by Daimler AG, Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS and Toto Wolff.
