Mercedes AMG Motorsport

Mercedes F1 Team

Early F1 success and withdrawal from motorsport

German manufacturer Mercedes have a rich history in Formula 1. While the team’s heritage can be traced back to the 1930s, their first foray into what was by then the official Formula 1 championship came in 1954.

Under the leadership of Alfred Neubauer, the team ran the Mercedes-Benz W196 that ran in conventional open-wheeled configuration and a streamlined form. Mercedes had instant success with Juan Manuel Fangio, who joined from Maserati mid-season in time for the French Grand Prix. The Argentine took the chequered flag ahead of teammate Karl Kling, with Fangio adding another three wins the rest of the season to take the championship.

That success continued in 1955 as Mercedes dominated once again. Fangio won four races while teammate Stirling Moss took the chequered flag at the British Grand Prix. The Argentine finished ahead of his teammate in the standings to take his second Drivers' Championship.

However the 1955 disaster at the 24 Hours of Le Mans killed Mercedes-Benz driver Pierre Levegh, along with 80 spectators, resulted in the cancellation of the French, German, Spanish and Swiss Grand Prix. Mercedes opted to withdraw from the world of motorsport, including F1, at the end of the season.

Return to F1 after Brawn GP purchase

Mercedes-Benz's parent company Daimler AG bought a minority stake in the Brawn GP team prior to the start of the 2010 F1 season. A sponsorship deal with Petronas was then struck, with the team rebranded as the Mercedes GP Petronas Formula One team. Ross Brawn was kept on as team principal while the team continued to use its base and workforce in Brackley, close to the engine plant in Brixworth.

Prior to that, the team can trace it's history back to Tyrrell Racing which competed from 1970 to 1998. British Amaerican Tobacco bought the team so its entry could become British American Racing in 1999. BAR partnered with Honda before becoming Honda Racing F1 Team in 2006.

Ownership changed hands again in 2008 when Honda withdrew from the sport, with Ross Brawn buying the team and renaming it Brawn GP. Jenson Button won six of the first even races en route to winning the Drivers' Championship, while Brawn won the Constructors' Championship thanks to their Mercedes engines.

Mercedes return with all-German line-up featuring Schumacher

Mercedes brought in the German duo of Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher, who returned to F1 after a three-year absence, to be their driver pairing, while Nick Heidfeld was named test and reserve driver.

The purchase of Brawn GP saw Mercedes end their association with McLaren, as parent company Daimler Ag sold back their 40 percent stake in the McLaren Group, though they continued to supply them engines.

Unfortunately Brawn GP's success didn't carry over to 2010 as the team were unable challenge the likes of Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull. Rosberg achieved three podium finishes in Malaysia, China and Great Britain, however Schumacher failed to register a win, podium, pole position or fastest lap for the first time since his debut season in 1991.

In the end Mercedes finished fourth in the Constructors' Championship with 214 points.

Daimler and Aabar Investments, who purchased 30 percent of Brawn GP in November 2009, bought the remaining 24.9 percent in February 2011. The new MGP W02 got off to a slow start in 2011 as both Rosberg and Schumacher retired from the Australian GP due to damage sustained in a crash. Rosberg led 14 laps of the Chinese GP, while Schumacher finished fourth in Canada after running second for a period of time. By season's end Mercedes once again found themselves fourth in the standings with 165 points and no wins, podiums or poles.

The 2012 season saw Mercedes remove GP from their name and add AMG, making them Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team. Rosberg took the team's first pole since Fangio in 1955 at the third race of the season in China while Schumacher, who qualified third, was moved up to second following Lewis Hamilton's grid penalty. Rosberg took the chequered flag, the team's first win in 57 years, while Schumacher was forced to retire after he left the pit lane before his right front tyre was properly fitted. Rosberg's win was also the first by a German driver in a German vehicle since Hermann Lang's 1939 Swiss GP victory.

Schumacher finished third at the European GP, his only podium finish after returning to F1. At the age of 43 years and 173, the result made him the oldest driver to achieve a podium since Jack Brabham's second-place finish at the 1970 British GP. However with the German unsure about his F1 future, Mercedes announced that Hamilton would join the team on a three-year contract to partner Rosberg. Soon after Schumacher announced his second retirement from the sport at season's end, with Mercedes ending the season fifth in the standings.

Mercedes fortunes change with the arrival of Hamilton and Wolff

Prior to the start of the 2013 season, Toto Wolff was named executive director with business partner Rene Berger becoming non-executive director. Wolff also took over co-ordination of all Mercedes-Benz motorsport activities, a role previously held by Norbert Haug.

Mercedes took their first win of the season in Monaco with Rosberg finishing ahead of eventual champion Sebastian Vettel and his Red Bull teammate Mark Webber. Hamilton finished third in Canada while Rosberg took a second win at the British GP following a one-two qualifying performance by the team. Hamilton won his first race for the team in Hungary, a result that helped Mercedes finish ahead of Ferrari for second in the Constructors' Championship.

F1 introduced 1.6-litre turbocharged V6 engines with a built in recovery system in 2014, with the change propelling Mercedes to the front of the grid. Rosberg took the opening race in Australia while Hamilton completed a Grand Slam victory in Malaysia ahead of his teammate, making it Mercedes' first one-two finish since the 1955 Italian GP.

Mercedes' dominance continued all season, with the team clinching the Constructors' Championship in Russia while Hamilton finished 67 points ahead of Rosberg to take the Drivers' title. The Silver Arrows finished the year with 18 poles, 16 wins and 11 one-two finishes out of 19 races. On average, the nearest non-Mercedes car finished 23.2 seconds back during their 16 wins.

Both drivers returned in 2015 with Hamilton winning his third championship by 59 points over Rosberg. The Briton finished with 10 wins while Rosberg added another six as Mercedes finished the year with 16 wins, 18 poles and 12 one-two finishes in 19 races. The team cruised to another Constructors' Championship, however their average winning margin over non-Mercedes competitors decreased to 19.7 seconds.

The only blemish was the growing rivalry developing between Rosberg and Hamilton. At the US GP the Briton aggressively forced his teammate wide at Turn 1, though the German led in the closing stages. A mistake at Turn 12 opened the door for Hamilton to win and clinch the title, though Rosberg was furious after the race and threw his podium cap at his teammate and refused to spray champagne on the podium.

That success continued in 2016, however the relationship between Rosberg and Hamilton continued to sour. The German won the opening four races of the season and took advantage of his teammates slow start to the campaign, opening up a 43 point lead ahead of F1s return to European soil.

However Max Verstappen ended Rosberg's run in Spain, becoming the youngest race winner on his debut for Red Bull. His victory was aided by the fact that Hamilton and Rosberg collided on the opening lap while fighting for the lead, resulting in both Mercedes cars retiring for the first time since the 2011 Australian GP. From there Hamilton answered back, winning six of the next seven races to put himself back in the mix for the title.

Unfortunately for the Briton, Rosberg rattled off four wins from the next five races. The lone race he didn't win in Malaysia, he finished third but was aided by the fact that Hamilton retired with an engine failure while leading. Rosberg didn't look back from there, winning the championship by five points over Hamilton while Mercedes cruised to another Constructors' Championship thanks to 19 wins, 20 poles and 8 one-two finishes from 21 events.

Rosberg retires but Mercedes dominance continues

Shortly after winning his only F1 World Championship, Rosberg announced his retirement from the sport at the age of 31. That made him the first reigning champion to do so since Alain Prost in 1993.

Valtteri Bottas was announced as the German's replacement. Unlike previous years, the battle for the title wasn't an all-Mercedes affair as Hamilton was challenged by Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel. The Briton trailed by 14 points after Round 11 in Hungary, however from there Hamilton rattled off five wins from the final nine races while Vettel retired twice.

In the end Hamilton took the title by 43 points, becoming the first British driver to win four World Championships, while Bottas took the chequered flag three times in his first year with the team. Mercedes ended the season with 12 wins, 15 poles and 4 one-two finishes from 20 races.

The fight between Hamilton and Vettel continued in 2018, with the German ahead by eight points after taking the chequered flag at the British GP. However Vettel retired while leading the next race in Germany while Hamilton took victory despite starting in 14th. From there it was smooth sailing for the Briton, who won the title by 88 points.

Mercedes took their fifth straight Constructors' Championship, becoming the second team to do so after Ferrari did so between 2000 to 2004. The team finished the year with 11 wins (all for Hamilton), 13 poles and 4 one-two finishes.

Ferrari's performance tailed off in 2019 making it an all-Mercedes battle for top spot. There wasn't much of a fight though as Hamilton won his sixth title by 87 points. The Silver Arrows took another Constructors' Championship, finishing 235 points ahead of Ferrari.

Mercedes ended the year with 15 wins - 11 for Hamilton and four for Bottas -, 10 poles and 9 one-two finishes.

The start of the 2020 F1 season was pushed back to July due to the coronavirus pandemic, but once it got started there was no stopping Hamilton. The Briton won 11 of the 17 races to capture his seventh World Championship, putting him level with Michael Schumacher on the all-time list.

Bottas finished second with two wins, while Mercedes took the Constructors' title yet again after finishing 254 points ahead of Red Bull thanks to 13 wins, 15 poles and 5 one-two finishes from 17 races.

Mercedes as an engine supplier

Although Mercedes didn't return as a factory team until the 2010 season, the German outfit began to supply engines in 1994 after partnering with Ilmor, a British independent high-performance autosport engineering company in Northamptonshire. Mercedes have since acquired the company, renaming it Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains.

After initially supplying Sauber with engines in 1994, they then embarked on a successful 20-year partnership with McLaren in 1995.

Mercedes also supplied Brawn GP, who later became the Mercedes factory team, with engines during their championship winning 2009 campaign along with Force India/Racing Point. Williams became the fourth team on Mercedes' books in 2014 before McLaren ended their agreement ahead of the 2015 season.

Lotus F1 used Mercedes engines for one season, along with Manor in 2016. McLaren returned to Mercedes power ahead of the 2021 season after signing a four-year contract.

As an engine supplier, Mercedes have amassed over 100 wins to rank fourth in F1 history. They've also won nine Constructors' and 13 Drivers' Championships.