Motor Racing: Mercedes enter F1 and Indy

MERCEDES-BENZ will compete in both the Formula One and US IndyCar championships next year, using British- made engines, the German car maker announced in Stuttgart yesterday.

Mercedes has bought a stake in the Northampton-based engine supplier, Ilmor Engineering, which has a subsidiary in Detroit, Michigan.

Ilmor engines currently power the Formula One teams March and Sauber, which already has links with Mercedes, and have also won the Indianapolis 500 several times. In 1994, Ilmor will be supplying the Penske Indycar team.

The move coincides with Mercedes' bid to increase its market share in the United States. The Stuttgart firm recently announced it was building a factory in Alabama.

Mercedes enjoyed considerable success in the Formula One in the 1950s, Juan Manuel Fangio taking the drivers' world championship in one of their cars in 1955.