Williams no longer wants Toyota engines next year

The Williams team announced after yesterday’s qualifying that they are no longer interested in the Toyota engine. The team could thus end its contract with Toyota as early as the end of the season. The team’s commitments were supposed to last until 2010.

Yesterday, Franck Williams announced in a press conference that he is looking for a new engine supplier. The Englishman sent a written request to Toyota to release Williams F1 from any commitment for the next season regarding the V8 engines. Toyota is not expected to oppose it.

Franck Williams, the director of the Groove team, has also shown urgency in making his choice: « Our engine supplier for 2010 will be decided very soon. We will need to incorporate it into the car… so, well, do we have the time? »

Regarding the team’s future engine supplier, no name has been disclosed, but Renault is already the favorite, reviving the victorious Williams-Renault duo of the 90s. Nonetheless, Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari are potential candidates.

« The paddock is composed only of rumors. Tomorrow, maybe the favorite will be Mercedes-Benz, or the day after tomorrow Ferrari… with that, we’ll have a car without an engine… » comments Williams about the rumors of an agreement with Renault.

For its part, Toyota has stated that it is not financially affected by Williams’ request and should be able to release the team from its contract earlier than expected without too much trouble.

« The situation is a tad complicated, » comments John Howett –head of Toyota. « The contract grants Williams the authorization to choose another engine supplier, but in principle, it should be a new manufacturer that wasn’t present this season… but we don’t want to bother Williams over a few lines in a contract. »

« At the beginning of the year, they asked us to reassure them for next year specifically, we did it, but if now they no longer wish to keep our engines, I don’t see why we would force them; we are flexible. If they don’t want our V8s, we will reduce the stocks, it will only improve reliability. » ends in English.

In this context, Renault is the favorite, especially since Red Bull Racing, the team it currently powers, is seriously considering Mercedes engines. But there’s another possibility: BMW-Sauber. The company will be left by BMW at the end of the year, and Williams could equip its cars with BMW-Sauber engines manufactured at the Sauber factory using the technology employed by BMW until now.