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Mercedes Plans to Cut F1 Engine Customer Roster in Next Cycle

Wolff cites the 2026 engine rules, tighter lead times and large production runs as reasons to target fewer customers.

Overview

  • Toto Wolff said Mercedes intends to reduce its customer count to roughly two or three teams in the next supply cycle.
  • He ruled out continuing with four teams, framing the move as a strategic shift rather than an immediate change.
  • Mercedes will power its works squad plus McLaren, Williams and Alpine next season, with Alpine replacing Aston Martin.
  • Aston Martin moves to Honda for 2026, while existing Mercedes customer contracts run through 2030 and will require resolution.
  • Wolff and engine chief Hywel Thomas highlighted the trade-off between richer data from more teams and the burden of producing hardware earlier, including 16 power units for the season opener.