Mercedes confirms title sponsor for F1 2010

Mercedes Grand Prix has announced the signing of a long-term agreement with Petronas which will see the Malaysian national oil and gas company become the title partner to the new Silver Arrows works team.

From 2010, the new team will compete in the FIA F1 World Championship as the Mercedes GP Petronas F1 Team and will carry the distinctive Petronas branding across the car and team liveries.

It is also hoped that the deal will 'pave the way for future collaborations between the two companies'.

"We are very pleased to begin our long-term partnership with our new title partner Petronas," said Norbert Haug, vice-president of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport. "Daimler, our premium brand Mercedes-Benz and Petronas will work together both on and off the track and I am sure that everybody involved will guarantee their absolute dedication to success.

"Petronas' home base in Kuala Lumpur is located in the middle of a fast-growing region for the automotive industry which makes this new partnership even more valuable. Within the limits of the new F1 resource restrictions, the Mercedes GP Petronas F1 Team will be well positioned to achieve our goals.

"We will all strive to present efficient success in the future knowing at the same time that the new F1 season with some fundamental rule changes will be a particularly challenging one."

"Everyone at Mercedes GP is delighted to confirm our long-term agreement with Petronas and we look forward to working closely with our new partner in the future," added team boss Ross Brawn. "The collaboration of the premium automotive brand Mercedes-Benz and a company as prestigious as Petronas gives our team a fantastic base from which to achieve our ambitions of competing at the top level of F1 and building on the success of 2009 which saw the team achieve the Constructors' and Drivers' Championships.

"Our plans for the new season are progressing well, as is the development of our 2010 challenger."

The Mercedes GP Petronas F1 Team's challenger for 2010 will make its track debut in its new livery at Valencia on 1 February 2010 for the first of the pre-season tests ahead of the F1 2010 season.

Meanwhile Petronas will also continue to be the title sponsor of the Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix, scheduled to be the third race of the new F1 season, which will take place at the Sepang International Circuit on 4 April 2010.