Mercedes F1 Set for Massive Tech Partnership Announcement

The Mercedes Formula 1 team is expected to announce a huge new partnership with Microsoft, according to a report from Sky News. The report indicates that the Brackley outfit will confirm the partnership during its 2026 F1 launch event on 22 January, and points to a value in the region of $60million per year, although this figure is not confirmed. The partnership with the technology giant would be the latest collaboration to be announced, following Mercedes' partnership with PepsiCo, and also comes after Mercedes F1 team principal and CEO Toto Wolff sold a 15% stake in his holding company, which translates to 5% of the F1 team, to CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz. The stake sale valued the team at £4.6billion. “I think it shows a good development because the teams have become sustainable and profitable," Wolff told Sky Sports F1 in Las Vegas. "It’s not just some valuation that has been taken out of the sky. When you look at our revenues and our cash flows, we are among the five, maybe three most profitable sports teams in the world, and this is where the valuations come from. “It has been the work of many years and the sport being in a good place.” George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes Photo by: Peter Fox / Getty Images Mercedes will unveil its 2026 F1 livery and, reportedly, the partnership with Microsoft, during an event on 22 January. Present at the launch will be Wolff and drivers George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli as well as senior team members who will share in-depth insight into the technical changes under the new regulations. 2026 marks the start of a new set of regulations in the championship. Some of the changes will include a power unit with a 50:50 split between internal combustion and electric power, smaller and lighter cars, the removal of DRS and the introduction of active aerodynamics, among many other revisions.