Marussia will choose between Ferrari and Mercedes for its V6 in 2014
If Marussia is no longer to be powered by Cosworth from 2014 onwards, the name of the future engine supplier for the Russian team is not yet known, but Andy Webb recently indicated that it should be between Ferrari and Mercedes.
The Marussia team is currently the only team powered by a Cosworth V8, with the British engine manufacturer returning to F1 in early 2010 to supply engines to the three new teams, which were Virgin (now Marussia), Team Lotus (now Caterham), and Hispania (which became HRT before disappearing).
However, since 2011, with Team Lotus switching to Renault, Cosworth has only been powering two teams and then just one this year following the withdrawal of the Spanish team HRT. With the transition from a V8 to a 1.6L Turbo V6 starting next year, Marussia estimates that the development costs for a new engine block will be too high for Cosworth and that the brand will not continue in F1 in 2014.
Theoretically, the Russian team therefore has the choice between three engine suppliers: Renault, Ferrari, and Mercedes. However, it seems that Renault – which is in talks with Toro Rosso for 2014 – is not inclined to supply more Formula 1 teams. Therefore, only Ferrari and Mercedes remain, as confirmed by Andy Webb, the executive director of the team, to the Russian publication *Championat*: “It is obvious that with Cosworth’s departure, we are going to choose between Ferrari and Mercedes. We will discuss with both.”
Webb also added that between the two engine suppliers, price would be an important factor in the choice. He also hopes for a quick decision before the start of the European season: « It is clear that the price will be a very important factor because the cost will be significantly higher than with the current engines. And we need to ensure we choose the right partner. I hope to be able to announce our decision within the next four weeks. »
If the choice is to be made between the two engine suppliers, a favorite seems to emerge: Ferrari, due to Jules Bianchi’s appointment to Marussia this season, due to the Frenchman being part of the Ferrari Driver Academy, and due to Ferrari possibly wanting to compensate for the loss of a customer team—in case Toro Rosso moves to Renault—by acquiring another one.
