Carlin to switch to Mercedes power in 2007

Championship winning F3 team Carlin Motorsport are to use Mercedes-Benz engines for the 2007 season. Carlin, who have won 73 British F3 races in total – making them the most successful British F3 team in history – are to make the switch after a series of successful seasons with Honda. The Carlin team have enjoyed a fruitful relationship with Neil Brown Engineering, the British company which builds and supplies the Honda engines, which has seen the alliance win 84 races in British and International F3 and take three British championships. Team Principal, Trevor Carlin commented, “I’d like to thank Neil Brown Engineering, for the great contribution they have made to our success since 1999. But we must consider market forces and recent races have demonstrated that the performance advantage currently lies with Mercedes-Benz. In order to continue at our current level of success and provide the best possible equipment for our drivers, we feel this change is necessary. “Not only have Mercedes-Benz proved to be the engine supplier to beat, they also have a wider Motorsport strategy including a Young Drivers Program, which we feel is very important. We look forward to a successful partnership in 2007 which will see us challenging for the championship." The Carlin team will take to the track for the first F3 race of the season on 6 April at Oulton Park. Runners-up in last year’s championship, the team will announce its driver line-up within the next month.