Mercedes: "This is the biggest rule change to affect us in 2022"

With McLaren starting with Mercedes engines in 2021, the German manufacturer is now the main supplier to Formula 1 with four teams. That means more chances of winning medals, of course, but it also means 25 per cent more work. According to Hywel Thomas of Mercedes, this is quite a challenge.

"Of course we warmly welcome McLaren as an engine customer," said the head of the engine department at Mercedes in a video released by the manufacturer. "The most important thing for our daily life in Brixworth is that we don't have to stop development earlier than usual, even if we have to build more engines and send them to the races."

New fuel for 2022 the biggest challenge

The extra time spent building the engines for McLaren will not be recovered. Because there is a freeze in the engine regulations, it is important to develop the engine as much as possible. Mercedes tries to do this despite the extra workload.

"We plan to build those extra engines without it having a huge impact on what we bring to the track," says Thomas. According to him, the biggest challenge lies in the preparations for 2022. That is when E10 fuels will be driven for the first time. "This is the biggest rule change affecting us in 2022 and a challenge for us and our fuel supplier Petronas."