Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has confirmed the works team will remain in Formula 1 in 2021.
In recent months speculation has been swirling about the team’s future due to mixed messages from Wolff himself, rumours of a takeover and a meeting reportedly taking place to discuss Mercedes’ F1 future next week in Germany.
However, now the Austrian has made it clear there is no intention of pulling the plug on the Brackley operation after this year.
“Mercedes will definitely race in 2021,” Wolff told Auto Motor und Sport. “We want to stay with it. Formula 1 makes sense for us.”
Indeed, ahead of the budget cap coming into effect next year, work is underway to upgrade the facilities at the Mercedes factory, InsideRacing has been told, which is certainly not a sign of a company poised to end its support of the F1 operation.
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That being said, the longer-term future of Mercedes is still uncertain as talks over a new Concorde Agreement continue, with the new financial terms understood to be one area of disagreement.
But publicly, Wolff says his wish is to see a future direction that works for all.
“The general conditions must be right,” he said. “Formula 1 must work as such.
“We want to have a Concorde Agreement that we can live with but that doesn’t mean that we always want to get more out of Mercedes.
“It has to be a well-balanced contract for us and for the smaller teams as well.”