Williams: Only one team would turn down calls from Volkswagen

Williams' team leader Jost Capito said Mercedes would be the only team not to welcome calls from volkswagen groups.

The official engine makers of F1, Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault, as well as Honda, are busy perfecting the new powerplant for 2022, when development will be suspended until the end of 2025.

F1 2026 will introduce a new power unit, and it is not only existing manufacturers who are focusing on this new era. Volkswagen has close ties to joining the F1 engine space, and their Audi and Porsche brands are already involved in negotiations on the 2026 rules.

Capito believes that 9 out of 10 teams are not opposed to discussing joining the sport with volkswagen, but for Mercedes, this may not be the case.

Since the introduction of the V6 turbo hybrid engine in 2014, the German team has won all eight constructors' championships and seven drivers' championships during that time.

In an interview, Capito said: "F1 has attracted interest in recent years and is very attractive to manufacturers. If Volkswagen decides soon that they will go into F1 with one or two brands, I will be happy. There's no point in talking about it before Volkswagen decides if they're really going to get into F1, but if you get a call, I don't think any team would say, 'Get out of here', I can't imagine unless it's Mercedes who gets the call! ”

Capito was then asked about the value of proactively approaching manufacturers, but Williams CEO and team leader felt it didn't make sense to do so because no formal decision had yet been made.

"I think it doesn't make sense as long as there's no decision, there's no need to have much hope, it has to be done step by step," he said. ”

Williams has been Mercedes' customer fleet since 2014.