Official: Ferrari will power Marussia from 2014 onwards

It was almost an open secret as the opportunities seemed great for Marussia to be supplied with a Ferrari engine block – especially since Jules Bianchi, a member of the Scuderia’s Young Driver Academy, had been placed in the seat of the second red and black single-seater. This hypothesis became a reality on Tuesday, as announced by Marussia in a statement.

« Marussia team and Scuderia Ferrari are pleased to announce the agreement regarding a new technical partnership that will see our team benefit from a complete Ferrari powertrain starting from the 2014 season. As a customer of Scuderia Ferrari and in accordance with the 2014 regulations, Marussia team will be supplied with an internal combustion engine and an energy recovery system, a full transmission, and related auxiliary systems, » can be read on the website of the team based in Sheffield.

Andy Webb, the head of Marussia, is obviously delighted with this agreement, which more securely anchors his team in the discipline: The Marussia team is thrilled to establish a technical partnership with Scuderia Ferrari for the supply of engines starting in 2014. The importance of this development for our team cannot be underestimated. It not only allows us to benefit from the supply of engines by the most successful engine manufacturer in Formula 1 history but also confirms—if confirmation was needed—our commitment to the sport and our determination to continue making progress towards our long-term ambitions. The new regulations concerning the power unit that will be introduced next year represent the most substantial evolution in engine terms in this sport since the introduction of the V8 and are the most significant in increasing the contribution of the energy recovery system. We look forward to working with Scuderia Ferrari in this exciting new era of Formula 1.

The CEO of Marussia does not forget the team’s partner for more than three seasons: “We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Cosworth, with whom we have been in partnership since our beginnings in 2010. We have shared a significant part of our team’s journey and Cosworth has been an integral part of our clear progression. We will continue to work together during the last half of the season to ensure we achieve our common goals before Cosworth leaves the discipline.”

Cosworth will once again leave Formula 1, due to a lack of teams to supply engines to, after returning in 2010, when they powered the three new teams – Team Lotus (which would become Caterham), Marussia, and HRT – as well as Williams. In 2011, Team Lotus switched to Renault, followed by Williams in 2012. Last year, Marussia and HRT were the only two teams still powered by the British manufacturer, before the Spanish team disappeared due to economic problems before 2013, leaving the Sheffield team as the exclusive partner of the British engine supplier. During this period, the two main achievements of the Cosworth engine were Rubens Barrichello’s fourth place at the 2010 European Grand Prix and Nico Hülkenberg’s pole position at the 2010 Brazilian Grand Prix, both with Williams.