Force India sign engine deal with McLaren and Mercedes

Force India will use Mercedes engines next season in a long-term deal with the German carmaker and McLaren, the Formula One team announced yesterday.

The partnership marks a significant development for McLaren's engine partners and part-owners, who have since 1995 supplied only the Woking team that took Lewis Hamilton to this year's drivers' title.

Sauber were the last 'customer' team to use Mercedes-badged engines, in 1994. However those engines were built by Ilmor, before the company was taken over by Mercedes.

Force India, who last week terminated their engine contract with Fiat-owned Ferrari, said in a statement that McLaren Applied Technologies would supply them with gearbox and hydraulic systems.

The team also plan to use a KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) developed by Mercedes and McLaren and will have access to McLaren's network of suppliers as well as operational support.

"McLaren and Mercedes-Benz are two of the most famous names in motorsport history," said Force India co-owner and principal Vijay Mallya.

"These new resources and developments will provide an enormous boost to our technical armoury and, as a result, we have high hopes of making good progress in 2009 and beyond."

Force India failed to score a point this year and Mallya carried out a major management restructuring last week, with team principal Colin Kolles and technical head Mike Gascoyne both leaving.

"We said at the outset that we meant business and were not interested in merely making up the numbers," said Mallya. "The announcement of our new technical partnership... clearly underlines that we meant what we said."

The billionaire, whose business interests range from aviation to beer and spirits, said Force India would be in good shape by the time India hosted a grand prix for the first time.

"(Formula One supremo) Bernie Ecclestone has declared plans to stage an Indian Grand Prix in 2011, in Delhi, by which time Force India Formula One team will be exactly that: a Formula One force in, and for, India."