Mercedes look set to stay in Formula 1 well beyond 2020 after signing a five-year deal with Ineos as a new official principal partner.
The two companies had previously announced a performance partnership last year with Mercedes’ applied science division.
But that has spawned into a more lucrative sponsorship deal, made public at the Royal Automobile Club in London on Monday and with Ineos now a big presence on the car Lewis Hamilton will drive in the defence of his sixth world title.
There have been rumours that Mercedes could walk away from F1 at the end of 2020 having dominated the championship both in terms of the constructors and drivers.
Team boss Toto Wolff had said back in November that it was “not a given” Mercedes would commit beyond this season amid widespread technical regulation changes in 2021 but the latest deal looks to confirm the team’s existence in F1 beyond this season.
The deal with Ineos is thought to be along the same lines as the multi-million-pound deal with current partners Petronas.
And Wolff said: “It shows the strength of the brand and appeal to Formula 1 to attract Ineos, [owner] Jim Ratcliffe and his partners into Formula 1.”
The deal widens Ineos’ sporting involvement. Already, Ratcliffe and his business have bought up Ben Ainslie’s America’s Cup team, taken over the Team Sky cycling outfit when Sky pulled the plug as long-term title sponsors and were behind Eliud Kipchoge’s successful bid to run under two hours for the marathon in October last year
