This article is about Mercedes as a Formula One team. For Mercedes as a Formula One engine supplier see Ilmor and Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains
Mercedes-Benz, a brand of the Mercedes-Benz Group, has been involved in Formula One as both team owner and engine manufacturer for various periods since 1954. The current Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team is based in Brackley, England,[6] and possesses a German licence.[7] An announcement was made in December 2020[8] that Ineos planned to take a one third equal ownership stake alongside the Mercedes-Benz Group and Toto Wolff; this came into effect on 25 January 2022.[9] Mercedes-branded teams are often referred to by the nickname, the "Silver Arrows".
Before the Second World War, Mercedes-Benz competed in the European Championship, winning three titles. The marque debuted in Formula One in 1954. After winning their first race at the 1954 French Grand Prix, driver Juan Manuel Fangio won another three Grands Prix to win the 1954 Drivers' Championship and repeated this success in 1955. Despite winning two Drivers' Championships, Mercedes-Benz withdrew from motor racing after 1955 in response to the 1955 Le Mans disaster.
Mercedes returned to Formula One in 1994 as an engine manufacturer in association with Ilmor, a British independent high-performance autosport engineering company, which developed their engines. The company won one constructors' title and three drivers' titles in a works partnership with McLaren which lasted until 2009. In 2005, Ilmor was rebranded as Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains. In 2010, the company bought the bought the Brawn GP bought the team, rebranding it as Mercedes. Since a major rule shake-up in 2014, which required the use of turbochargers and hybrid electric engines, Mercedes has become one of the most successful teams in Formula One history, winning seven consecutive Drivers' titles from 2014 to 2020 and eight consecutive Constructors' titles from 2014 to 2021. It has set records for most wins in a season (19 in 2016), and for most consecutive constructors' titles. The manufacturer has also collected more than 200 wins as an engine supplier and is ranked second in Formula One history. Ten Constructors' and thirteen Drivers' Championships have been won with Mercedes-Benz engines.
- The Early years
- The 1930s – Rise of the Silver Arrows
- Formula 1 – The First Run
- Formula 1 – The Return
The Early years
Mercedes has been involved in motor racing even before the term “motor racing” was coined. The Mercedes-Benz marque we know today was created following a merger of a German industrial machine production company Benz & Companie Rheinische Gasmotoren-Fabrik (Benz & Cie) and a German engineering company Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG) in 1926. The new company was named Daimler-Benz (today known as Daimler AG). Its motorsport roots can be traced all the way back to the first ever motor race, the 1894 Paris-Rouen, where a single Benz vehicle driven by Émile Roger finished 14th. On the other side of the future partnership, DMG built its first race car in 1902 – the Mercedes Simplex. The vehicle dominated racing before the First World War. Benz’s involvement in motor racing continued throughout the 1910s with the Blitzen-Benz (introduced in 1909) and in the 1920s with the Benz Tropfenwagen (introduced 1921). By the end of the 1920s Benz & Cie ran into financial difficulties which led to the merger with DMG and the formation of Daimler-Benz.
The 1930s – Rise of the Silver Arrows
The 1930 saw Daimler-Benz and its Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrows dominate Grand Prix racing in Europe. Led by the legendary team manager Alfred Neubauer, Mercedes-Benz and its main rival Auto Union, won all European Grand Prix Championships from 1934 until they withdrew form racing in 1939, ahead of the Second World War. In the process they produced many legendary cars such as the Mercedes-Benz W25 (1934 to 1936), W125 (1937), W154 (1938 and 1939), and W165 (1939), which were driven by motorsport greats Rudolf Caracciola, Manfred von Brauchitsch, Richard Seaman and many others.
Why the “Silver Arrows”?
Mercedes’ racing cars are nowadays instantly recognizable by their traditional silver color, so the question seems a bit redundant. However the story of how they got the famous color is the stuff of motorsport legend. Firstly its important to establish that the “Silver Arrows” name was given to German racing teams, both Mercedes and Auto Union. Back in the old days each country was assigned a color that made them instantly recognizable, for example Italian cars were painted red, British cars were painted dark green, French cars were painted blue, while German cars were painted white (interchangeable with silver as both colors share the same heraldry tincture). However according to Alfred Neubauer’s account of the origin of the Silver Arrows given in 1958, Mercedes started using the color silver by accident. The story goes that Mercedes’ new car- the W25 was originally painted white, but after it was deemed around 1kg too heavy ahead of the Eifelrennen at the Nürburgring in 1934, a desperate Neubauer (and in some accounts driver Manfred von Brauchitsch) decided to scrape off the lead-based paint which helped the car meet the 750kg maximum weight limit. Without paint the silver aluminum surface of the car was exposed and, after von Brauchitsch won the race, the media nicknamed Mercedes’ cars – the Silver Arrows.
Formula 1 – The First Run
The 1954 Season Click for 1954 Season Information, Statistics and Standings The Car: Mercedes-Benz W196 WDC Positions: Juan Manuel Fangio, P1; Karl Kling, P5; Hans Herrmann, P6; Hermann Lang, N/A In 1953 Daimler-Benz decided it was time for Mercedes to return to Grand Prix racing. The return happened in 1954 when the Mercedes brand entered Formula 1, after 14 years away from motorsport (the F1 championship was established in 1950). The team, led by Alfred Neubauer, entered their latest vehicle – the Mercedes-Benz W196, an advanced machine that ran in two configurations – as an open-wheeler and as a wider streamlined version. The 1951 World Champion, Argentine driver Juan Manuel Fangio, transferred from Maserati to Mercedes in round four of the championship, just in time for the German outfit’s debut at the 1954 French Grand Prix. Mercedes dominated the race scoring a 1-2 victory with Fangio and Karl Kling. Another Mercedes driver, Hans Herrmann, recorded the fastest lap of the race. In addition to those three, Hermann Lang also drove for the team in round 6 – the German Grand Prix. The campaign finished with Fangio taking the Drivers’ Championship, scoring 4 pole positions and 4 wins for Mercedes. The Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship wasn’t introduced until 1958.
The 1955 Season Click for 1955 Season Information, Statistics and Standings The Car: Mercedes-Benz W196 WDC Positions: Juan Manuel Fangio, P1; Stirling Moss, P2; Piero Taruffi, P6; Karl Kling, P11; Hans Herrmann, P22; André Simon, N/A The 1955 season was Mercedes’ first full Formula 1 season. Throughout the campaign the team hired several drivers: Juan Manuel Fangio, Karl Kling, Stirling Moss, Hans Herrmann, André Simon and Piero Taruffi. An updated version of previous year’s Mercedes-Benz W196 was again used and further developed throughout the season. The team was dominant with 4 pole positions and 5 wins out of 7 races (Fangio won 4, while British driver Stirling Moss famously won his home British Grand Prix). Fangio again picked up the Drivers’ Championship for the team, ahead of Moss who finished the season in second place.
Formula 1 – The Return
The 2010 Season Click for 2010 Season Information, Statistics and Standings The Car: Mercedes MGP W01 WDC Positions: Nico Rosberg, P7; Michael Schumacher, P9 WCC Position: P4 In 2010 Mercedes returned to Formula 1 as a works team after Daimler AG bought a 45.1% stake in Brawn GP, with their partner Aabar Investments acquiring an additional 30%. Ross Brawn continued on as Team Principal. The team was rebranded Mercedes GP Petronas Formula One Team. The team’s history can be traced back to Tyrell Racing, a team that competed in F1 from 1970 until 1998, when it was bought by British American Tobacco and renamed British American Racing. BAT invested serious money into the operation and built a high-tech modern HQ in Brackley that is being used by Mercedes to this day. The team changed ownership again in 2006 when it was bought by Honda and renamed Honda Racing F1 Team. Honda withdrew from F1 at the end of 2008 and the team was sold to Ross Brawn and Nick Fry who renamed it Brawn GP. After winning the double crown in their first season, at the end of 2009 Brawn and Fry decided to sell the majority stake in the team to Daimler AG and Aabar Investments. Wanting to start the first season of Mercedes’ return to Formula 1 in a big way, Brawn lured his former collaborator, seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher back to Formula 1 (the German retired after the 2006 season). Nico Rosberg (son of 1982 F1 champion Keke Rosberg) was chosen as Schumacher’s team-mate, completing an all-German lineup behind the wheel of the all-new Mercedes MGP W01. Unfortunately the first year back proved to be a tough one for the German manufacturer. The team’s best results were three third-place finishes by Nico Rosberg at Sepang, Shanghai and Silverstone. Rosberg ultimately finished the season in 7th place, while Schumacher was 9th, without a single podium to his name. Mercedes finished the season in 4th place, behind Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari.