Mercedes Team Profile

Grand Prix racing before Formula One (1930s)

Mercedes-Benz formerly competed in Grand Prix motor racing in the 1930s, when the Silver Arrows dominated the races alongside Auto Union. Both teams were heavily funded by the Nazi regime, winning all European Grand Prix Championships after 1934. Rudolf Caracciola won three for Mercedes-Benz.

Daimler-Benz AG (1954–1955)

In 1954, Mercedes-Benz returned to what was now known as Formula One (a World Championship having been established in 1950). Under the leadership of Alfred Neubauer, using the technologically advanced Mercedes-Benz W196. The car was run in the conventional open-wheeled configuration and a streamlined form, which featured covered wheels and wider bodywork. Juan Manuel Fangio, the 1951 champion, transferred mid-season from Maserati to Mercedes-Benz for their debut at the French Grand Prix on 4 July 1954. The team had immediate success and recorded a 1–2 victory with Fangio and Karl Kling and the fastest lap (Hans Herrmann). Fangio went on to win three more races in 1954, winning the championship.

The success continued into the 1955 season, with Mercedes-Benz developing the W196 throughout the year. Mercedes-Benz again dominated the season,[8] with Fangio taking four races and his new teammate Stirling Moss winning the British Grand Prix. Fangio and Moss finished first and second in that year’s championship. The 1955 disaster at the 24 Hours of Le Mans on 11 June, which killed Mercedes-Benz sportscar driver Pierre Levegh and more than 80 spectators, led to the cancellations of the French, German, Spanish, and Swiss Grands Prix. At the end of the season, the team withdrew from motorsport, including Formula One. During this first period of the team’s participation in Formula One, Mercedes won 9 races, including three Grands Prix (the 1954 French Grand Prix, 1954 Italian Grand Prix and 1955 Italian Grand Prix). These were won by the streamlined “Type Monza”, making them the only three races won by a closed-wheel car in Formula One history.

  

Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team (2010–2013)

Before the 2010 season, Mercedes-Benz’s parent company Daimler AG bought a minority stake (45.1%) in the Brawn GP team, with Aabar Investments purchasing 30% on 16 November 2009. Following the purchase of the team and a sponsorship deal with Petronas, the team was rebranded as Mercedes GP Petronas Formula One Team. Mercedes would now compete in the constructor’s championship for the first time. Ross Brawn continued his duties as team principal. The team retained its base and workforce in Brackley, close to the Mercedes-Benz Formula One engine plant (formerly Ilmor Engineering) in Brixworth.

The team has a complex history. Its entry can be traced back to Tyrrell Racing, who competed as a constructor from 1970 until 1998 until being bought by British American Tobacco in 1997. Its entry could be transferred to the then-new constructor British American Racing (BAR) in 1999. BAR, who had formed a partnership with Honda, eventually became Honda Racing F1 Team in 2006 when British American Tobacco withdrew from the sport. It again changed hands in 2008, when Honda withdrew and was purchased by the team’s management, naming it Brawn GP after team principal Ross Brawn. Brawn used engines from Mercedes-Benz High-Performance Engines. Despite running on a low budget, Jenson Button won six of the first seven races and ultimately the 2009 Drivers’ Championship, while Brawn won the Constructors’ Championship. It was the first time in the sport’s sixty-year history that a team won both titles in its maiden season.

 Team Mercedes GP hired Nico Rosberg and seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, who returned to Formula One after a three-year absence. Nick Heidfeld was the test and reserve driver. Of Brawn’s 2009 drivers, Jenson Button signed for McLaren, whilst Rubens Barrichello moved to Rosberg’s former seat with Williams team for 2010. With the acquisition of Brawn, the team ended its involvement with McLaren, parent company Daimler AG sold back the 40% shareholding in the McLaren Group while continuing to supply engines to the team. The team’s performance during 2010 was not so competitive as under Brawn, with the team behind the leading three teams of Ferrari, McLaren, and Red Bull. Their best results came from Rosberg finishing on the podium three times, scoring third places at Sepang, Shanghai, and Silverstone. Rosberg eventually finished in seventh place. However, Schumacher had a disappointing return. Being beaten by his teammate and finishing the season without a single race win, podium, pole position, or fastest lap for the first time since his début season in 1991. He also was involved in a controversy in Hungary after nearly squeezing former Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello into the wall at 180 mph (290 km/h). Ultimately, the team finished fourth in the Constructors’ Championship, with 214 points.

Before the 2011 season, Daimler and Aabar purchased the remaining 24.9% stake owned by the team management in February 2011. Using the new MGP W02, the Australian Grand Prix ended when Schumacher and Rosberg retired due to crash damage on laps 19 and 22. In Malaysia, Rosberg qualified ninth, and Schumacher again failed to make Q3, qualifying eleventh. Schumacher scored the team’s first points with a ninth-place finish, whereas Rosberg had a quiet race and finished twelfth. In China, Rosberg and Schumacher showed strong form, with Rosberg finishing fifth and leading fourteen laps during the race. Schumacher ended the race in eighth place. Rosberg added another fifth place in Turkey, while Schumacher finished in sixth place in Spain, ahead of Rosberg. After scoring no points at the Monaco Grand Prix, Schumacher equalled his best finish for the team in Canada, finishing fourth after running as high as second. In Valencia, Rosberg finished seventh, and Schumacher seventeenth, after contact with Vitaly Petrov. Rosberg and Schumacher both finished in the points at the following two races in Great Britain and Germany. Gearbox issues stopped Schumacher from scoring at the Hungarian Grand Prix, but Rosberg finished in ninth place. At the Belgian Grand Prix, Schumacher moved from the back of the grid – after losing a wheel in qualifying – to finish fifth, while Rosberg finished sixth, leading the race in its early stages. Again, the team finished fourth in the Constructors’ Championship just as in 2010, with 165 points with no wins, podiums, or poles.

For 2012, the team removed the GP from their name and added the name of AMG, the high-performance brand of Daimler AG, to their title. The team would officially get the designation Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team. At the start of the season, Mercedes was the subject of protest over using a “radical” rear wing concept on the Mercedes F1 W03 racing car. This was not settled until the third race in China, when the stewards unanimously rejected the protest. At the season’s third race in China, Rosberg took the team’s first pole position as a works team since Fangio in 1955. Schumacher finished the session third but moved up to second after a grid penalty for McLaren team’s Lewis Hamilton. The team secured its first win in 57 years when Nico Rosberg finished first in the 2012 Chinese Grand Prix. At the 2012 Monaco Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher set the fastest time in qualifying. He started sixth after a five-place grid penalty was imposed for having caused an avoidable collision with Bruno Senna during the previous round’s Spanish Grand Prix.

In addition to that, Rosberg became the first German driver to win a Grand Prix driving a German vehicle since Hermann Lang’s victory at the 1939 Swiss Grand Prix. On 28 September 2012, it was announced that McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton would join the Mercedes team from the 2013 season onwards. Hamilton signed a three-year deal to partner Nico Rosberg in the team. In January 2013, Toto Wolff became an executive director of the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team. His business partner Rene Berger became a non-executive director. In addition to joining the team as managing partner, he also acquired 30% of Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd, with a further 10% held by Niki Lauda, chairman of the board, and 60% by the parent company. Wolff took over the coordination of all Mercedes-Benz motorsport activities, a responsibility previously held by Norbert Haug.

The following season on 26 May 2013, Nico Rosberg capitalised on a pole position to award the team its first win of 2013 at the Monaco Grand Prix. Paddy Lowe moved to the team as Executive Director on 3 June 2013. Mercedes then went on to take third place in the Canadian Grand Prix courtesy of Hamilton, followed by another win for Rosberg at the British Grand Prix after the team took 1–2 in qualifying. The team then celebrated their third win after Hamilton took his first victory for the team at the Hungarian Grand Prix, resulting in second place ahead of Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship.

V6 turbo era (2014-2020)

Both drivers were retained for 2014. Rosberg won the first race in Australia before Hamilton completed a grand slam in Malaysia –leading every lap from pole position with the fastest race lap. Rosberg then completed a 1–2 finish for the team, ending Hamilton’s nine-race streak without a podium finish. It was also the first 1–2 finish by Mercedes as a works team since the 1955 Italian Grand Prix. The team repeated the result at the Bahraini, the Chinese, and the Spanish Grands Prix. Rosberg and Hamilton finished 1–2 respectively at the Monaco and Austrian Grands Prix. Rosberg became the first German driver driving a German vehicle to win the German Grand Prix since Rudolf Caracciola achieved it at the 1939 German Grand Prix. At the Russian Grand Prix, the team won their first Constructors’ Championship as a works team. Hamilton won the last race held in Abu Dhabi, finishing the season 67 points ahead of Rosberg, clinching the World Drivers’ Championship. In the World Constructors ‘ Championship standings, the team finished the 2014 season 296 points ahead of their closest rival, Red Bull Racing. With 18 pole positions, 16 wins and 11 1–2’s out of 19 races, Mercedes dominated this first year of the V6 turbo era. For their 16 race victories, the average winning margin to the nearest non-Mercedes competitor was 23.2 seconds.

For the 2015 season, the team retained both Hamilton and Rosberg. At the 2015 Russian Grand Prix, the team won their second Constructors’ Championship as a works team. Hamilton won his second consecutive Drivers’ Championship at the 2015 United States Grand Prix, finishing 59 points ahead of Rosberg. Mercedes continued their domination in this second year of the V6 turbo era, improving on their impressive numbers from 2014 with 18 pole positions, 16 wins and 12 1–2’s in 19 races. Of their 16 race victories, the average winning margin to the nearest non-Mercedes competitor was 19.7 seconds, down from 23.2 seconds in 2014.

In the 2016 season, Mercedes won the Constructors’ Championship for the third consecutive season, winning 19 of the 21 races held while securing 20 poles (the highest percentage ever in a single season of F1 at 95.2%) and 8 1–2’s. The average winning gap to the nearest non-Mercedes driver dropped to 14.6 seconds. Rosberg won his only Drivers’ Championship, finishing 5 points ahead of Hamilton, before announcing his retirement shortly after winning the title.

On 10 January 2017, Mercedes announced that Executive Director Paddy Lowe had left the team and entered a period of garden leave. On 16 January 2017, Valtteri Bottas was announced as Rosberg’s replacement for the 2017 season. British GP3 driver George Russell was incorporated into the junior team. [35]. On 22 October 2017, Mercedes won the Constructors’ Championship for the fourth consecutive time. One week later, Lewis Hamilton became the first British driver to win four world championships. Mercedes finished the 2017 season with 12 wins out of 20 races, 15 poles, 4 1–2’s and an average winning margin to the nearest non-Mercedes driver of 13.1 seconds.

For the 2018 season, the team retained both Hamilton and Bottas. The team clinched their fifth straight constructors’ title at the penultimate race in Brazil after a win for Hamilton. In the 2018 season, Mercedes won 11 races (all for Hamilton) out of 21 races, took 10 fastest laps (three for Hamilton and seven for Bottas), 13 pole positions (eleven for Hamilton and two for Bottas), and four 1-2 finishes. This made Mercedes only the second team in the history of F1 to achieve the feat of winning 5 drivers’ and constructors’ titles in a row after Ferrari did between 2000 and 2004.

For the 2019 season, the team again retained both Hamilton and Bottas. In the opening race, both drivers locked out the front row, with Hamilton taking pole position. Bottas overtook Hamilton at the start and took his first victory since the 2017 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with Hamilton managing to give the team a 1-2 finish after fending off Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. The team continued the strong performance through the first half of the season. By the summer break, Mercedes had won 10 out of 12 races, with Hamilton taking 8 victories to Bottas’s 2, securing 1-2 finishes at the first 5 races of the season. The team would go on to take both the drivers and constructors titles for the sixth consecutive year.

The team debuted their “Dual-Axis-Steering” system during pre-season testing for the 2020 season. This allows the driver to change the toe of the front wheels by pushing or pulling on the steering wheel. This lets the driver optimise the car for better tyre warming on the straights with zero toe or better mechanical grip in the corners with positive toe. The system was allowed for the 2020 season but has been made illegal for 2021. The team would go on to win both the drivers and constructors championships. Before the season’s penultimate round, the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix, Hamilton was forced to sit the race out following a positive coronavirus test, with Williams driver and Mercedes junior George Russell replacing him.

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