British Formula One team Williams has announced a deal to have its engines supplied by Mercedes from the start of the 2014 season.
The deal will see Mercedes replace French engine suppliers Renault, which the Oxfordshire-based team had only started using last year.
Williams team principal Sir Frank Williams, who founded the team in 1966, said: “Mercedes-Benz has been one of the sport’s most successful engine suppliers and we believe they will have an extremely competitive engine package.
Head of motorsport for Mercedes Toto Wolff said he believes the deal could mark a new period of success for Williams, a team without a championship win since 1997.
“The proud heritage of Williams and the company’s commitment to technological excellence make it a perfect long term partner for Mercedes-Benz under the new powertrain regulations,” said Wolff.
“It is a win-win situation for both HPP [Mercedes-Benz High Performance Powertrains] and Williams, which will ensure HPP is able to supply at least three teams on a long term basis under the new regulations and could open interesting new perspectives for technology transfer.”
The agreement marks the beginning of a new partnership between Mercedes-Benz and an established British team, after it announced the end of its long association with Mclaren earlier this month, which will use Honda engines from 2015.
Having started in 1995, the partnership brought three world championship successes for Mclaren, with two wins for Mika Hakkinen and a 2008 title victory for Lewis Hamilton.
It also currently supplies engines for its own Works team, as well as for Force India.
