Petronas to part ways with Mercedes-AMG F1 team?
No more Petronas in F1? Hello to Aramco? Lots of questions for the Mercedes-AMG F1 team, we have
Back in August, Petronas announced that it will be ending its partnership with the Sepang Racing Team (SRT) in MotoGP at the end of the 2021 season. It seems that the move has been followed in Formula 1 as reports around the globe state that they too will be parting ways with the reigning world championship-winning team, Mercedes-AMG.
After over a decade and multiple titles in the bag, it seems that COVID-19 has had a much bigger effect on Petronas as reports of 'cost-cutting measures' had to be implemented going into 2022. We're not entirely sure what's going on right now, but the team's spokesperson has indicated that Petronas and Mercedes-AMG did sign a multi-year partnership renewal last year.
Other sources like GP Fans have also indicated that with Petronas stepping out, Saudi Aramco will be stepping in as the team's new main sponsor come 2022. It seems that Aramco's multi-billion dollar investment with Total and INEOS, which happens to be one of three equal partners between Daimler and Toto Wolff for the Mercedes-AMG F1 team.
So far, Petronas has not released any official comments or statements regarding the matter. Considering how hard everyone has been hit due to the ongoing pandemic, we won't be surprised if they make the official announcement in the coming weeks. As Malaysians who have only recently been given access to more freedom in the past two years, we understand that all too well. Stay tuned for more updates.