The Three-Pointed Star brand has decided to abandon all extra-Formula 1 sporting projects to avoid setbacks with the new technical regulations.
Toto Wolff, team principal and CEO of Mercedes, announced the definitive closure of projects linked to sailing and technological consulting in other sports. The F1 team has decided to abandon these programs in order to concentrate all resources and attention exclusively on the highest category, particularly in view of the revolutionary 2026 regulations.
Wolff was very direct in an interview with Forbes: “We don’t want to do it anymore. We are a Formula 1 team. We don’t want to do sailing. We don’t want to do other sports. Complete focus only on F1.”
In 2019, the Anglo-German team had created Mercedes Applied Science, a separate entity from the F1 team but connected to it, with the aim of leveraging the engineering expertise of the racing department—such as aerodynamics, advanced simulations, and production infrastructure—on external projects.
The main partnership was established with INEOS, the chemical group led by Sir Jim Ratcliffe. The agreement involved collaboration in two main sports: sailing with the America’s Cup and cycling with Team INEOS.
At the time, Sir Jim Ratcliffe enthusiastically commented: “Leveraging the team’s unmatched expertise and successes to support our sporting ambitions in sailing and cycling is an exciting proposition. As in cycling and sailing, Formula 1 is also a sport that perfectly combines human performance with machinery, so we are ideally positioned to learn from each other.”
The sailing project and results achieved
Mercedes assigned dedicated engineers to INEOS projects. Over the years, the sailing collaboration evolved into the INEOS Britannia team, with the ambitious goal of bringing Britain back to winning the America’s Cup after decades without success.
In 2024, the British team reached the final of the 37th America’s Cup in Barcelona but lost to Emirates Team New Zealand.
After this defeat, in 2025 INEOS decided to withdraw from the competition. The group explained that a potential agreement with another challenger, Athena Racing, fell through due to the lack of a rapid conclusion by the other party.
The reasons behind Mercedes’ decision: 2026 as a turning point
Toto Wolff explained the decision was mainly driven by the arrival of the new 2026 technical regulations, which represent a huge challenge but also an opportunity for the Anglo-German team to return to the top. He emphasized: “The ground effect era was the first time we didn’t get everything right. 2026 is what Formula 1 represents: innovation, high technology, the fastest laboratory in the world.”
After years of results below expectations from 2022 onwards, Brackley has chosen to eliminate every external distraction. Engineers who had been working on sailing and other projects have been reassigned 100% to the F1 program. The key phrase repeated by Toto Wolff is: complete focus only on Formula 1.
The team, eight-time Constructors’ Champion, has thus decided to close a chapter of sports diversification that lasted several years in order to fully commit to the 2026 regulatory revolution, which is considered a new era where Mercedes aims to dominate once again.
By bringing its elite engineers back from the high seas of the America’s Cup to the drawing boards of Brackley, Mercedes is making a clear statement: the 2026 technical reset is a “must-win” scenario. After a challenging ground-effect era that saw the team lose its grip on the top of the podium, Toto Wolff is betting that total organizational focus will be the secret weapon needed to master the new power unit and aerodynamic rules. In the relentless world of Formula 1, Mercedes has realized that being the best on the track requires their undivided attention, leaving no room for side projects as they chase their ninth world title.
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