Mercedes’ high-performance brand AMG is set to feature more prominently on its Formula 1 car from 2021, the Daimler CEO has confirmed.
Throughout this season, speculation over the future of the Brackley-based team has been swirling, from suggestions of a takeover by Lawrence Stroll and team boss Toto Wolff to partner INEOS buying a majority stake.
All those claims were subsequently denied though, with Mercedes signing on to the new Concorde Agreement until the end of 2025.
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And in a strategy update to investors, CEO Ola Kallenius revealed plans for greater electrification and a greater presence across all Mercedes’ sub-brands, Maybach, AMG, G and EQ.
However, what was unique to AMG, was it would also retain a focus on the hybrid technology used in F1, which has powered the German manufacturer to six consecutive double championships with a seventh all-but-certain.
“Formula 1 as the pinnacle of motorsport, the highest form of performance, we will use the technology we have developed in Formula 1 for performance hybrids and other exciting technologies in the future and put that into our AMG cars,” Kallenius said.
“With Project One [hypercar] we are taking a Formula 1 powertrain and putting it on the road, so it comes naturally to us to leverage Formula 1 even more for AMG going forward.”
This commitment will no doubt please F1 as it comes less than two weeks after another major car manufacturer in Honda announced their departure as engine suppliers to both Red Bull teams after 2021.
What it didn’t do, however, is stop the rumours surrounding Daimler and Aston Martin, amid suggestions Mercedes could be planning to buy a controlling stake in the British luxury brand.
“No, we’re not going to take industrial control of Aston Martin, but we have a very successful co-operation with Aston Martin and that will continue,” Kallenius said via Autocar, with those ties extending to the current Racing Point F1 team.
That story gained traction after it was confirmed Mercedes F1 boss Wolff bought shares in Aston earlier this year and former AMG chairman Tobias Moers replaced Andy Palmer as CEO.