Mercedes will supply its power units to F1 back-markers Manor Marussia next season "in a deal announced on Thursday," according to Alan Baldwin of REUTERS. Marussia, the smallest team in the sport, "went into administration at the end of last season and survived only after a late rescue deal was put together." It has used Ferrari engines "for the past two years." The new partnership "comes amid a general shakeup of the engine landscape, with Renault set to buy Mercedes-powered Lotus and Red Bull's two teams negotiating with Ferrari after breaking from Renault." Champion Mercedes, "whose engine is the most competitive in the sport, said the deal with Manor was a multi-year one and the units provided would be 'current year.'" Mercedes High Performance Powertrains Dir Andy Cowell said, "This new agreement should enable us to keep our supply roster at three customer teams for 2016, which is our ideal level in terms of technical and logistical capacity." Marussia Principal John Booth said that "his team would resume a previous technical partnership with Williams Advanced Engineering for the supply of transmission and suspension components" (REUTERS, 10/1).
