Mercedes will reconsider their future in Formula 1 at the end of the current Concorde Agreement in 2020, Daimler boss Deiter Zetsche has claimed at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
The future of the German carmaker has been questioned by some this year as their recent period of success continues. After the Monaco Grand Prix, Eddie Jordan claimed that the Brackley team would be pulling out as a works team in a few years, leading to an immediate rebuttal by Motorsport boss Toto Wolff, who described the former owner turned pundit’s claim as “fake news”.
However, in the next few years, attention will shift towards the long-term future with two very important parts of the F1 puzzle being negotiated.
Firstly, new owners, Liberty Media, are keen to use the renewal of the contract between all the major stakeholders to introduce significant changes, some of which may take away privileges the manufacturers currently hold.
And secondly, engine regulations for 2021 are set to be altered in an effort to reduce the complexity and cost while increasing the sound, which have all been criticisms of the current power units.
For Mercedes, the latter is likely more important as they have been among the most vocal in ensuring the new formula retains road-relevancy and includes an element of electrification.
Regardless, Zetsche would stress F1 remains important to the company’s future strategy.
“Formula 1 is linked to our history and our brand,” he said. “It is a component that has helped us develop the brand and make it younger, so for now I do not see a change of strategy until 2021.
“The Concorde agreement will last until that date and I am not even thinking about it.”
It isn’t just the state of F1 that Mercedes will consider, as they, like many major manufacturers with large motorsport programs, recently revealed an altering of their focus in the coming years.
“We decided to leave DTM and start the project in Formula E,” Zetsche reaffirmed. “At the moment this series is a social and PR platform, but we want to help to increase the competition between the teams.”
The Silver Arrow will make its presence felt along with Porsche in the all-electric series from Season 6 which begins in 2019.
