Team Ineos partners with Formula 1 giant Mercedes-AMG Petronas

Formula 1 world champions Mercedes-AMG Petronas has joined forces with seven-timed Tour de France winner Team Ineos and the Ineos Team UK America’s Cup challenge in a partnership that will see them collaborate in areas including engineering, human science, simulation and data analysis.

The partnership will operate through Mercedes-Benz Applied Science (MBAS), set up initially to bring insights from science and technology to the world of motor racing – and now, cycling and sailing too.

Sir Dave Brailsford, team principal of Team Ineos, said: “At the very heart of these three great teams lies a shared passion for racing, for winning and creating great sporting moments.

 “Our unrelenting determination to drive, sail and pedal faster and outwit the ever-improving competition will benefit hugely from this partnership.

“We can cross-pollinate our collective knowledge in science, technology, human performance and racing strategy to create even stronger winning environments.

“It is massively exciting to be working with such brilliant and successful people in other sports – led by Mercedes the best team in F1 – and we can’t wait to get started and be greater together.”

Mercedes-AMG Petronas has just won the Formula 1 World Constructors' Championship for the sixth consecutive season and in each of those years, it also had the winner of the Drivers’ Championship, five times through Lewis Hamilton and once with Nico Rosberg.

Its team principal and CEO, Toto Wolff, said: “The technological demands of Formula 1 mean we are well-placed to support with advanced technical challenges in specific areas of sailing and cycling, with a particular focus on aerodynamics and the manufacturing capability around key components.

“When Sir Jim Ratcliffe approached us with the concept of bringing together the three organisations, all with proven track records of excellence and high ambitions for the future, we immediately saw the opportunity to grow and diversify our business – and to learn from some of the most successful teams in world sport. We are very excited about this agreement’s potential in the months and years ahead.”

Last year Ratcliffe pumped £110 million into Sir Ben Ainslie’s America’s Cup venture with the goal of winning the trophy in 2021.

Four-time Olympic gold medal winning sailor Ainslie said: “There’s an incredible amount of synergy across of all the sports – Formula 1, cycling and the America’s Cup. It’s a fascinating mixture of pushing the boundaries of technical innovation alongside sporting prowess.

“Mercedes have been phenomenally successful in Formula 1 and there is undoubtedly much we can learn from their organisation.

"Being able to access their technical resource and experience will be a huge boost for our team. We look forward to a strong collaboration as we work together to get the Cup back to British waters.”

Mercedes-AMG Petronas’s Formula 1 rival, McLaren, is already active in professional cycling through its 50 per cent ownership of Bahrain-Merida, and will become a title sponsor of the outfit next season, with Bahrain-McLaren’s kit and bikes officially unveiled last week.