The Stats
First GP: 1954 | GPs: 296 | Titles: 8 | Wins: 125 | Poles: 137 | Podiums: 289
| Full Team Name | Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team |
| Base | Brackley, UK |
| Team Principal | Toto Wolff |
| Technical Director | James Allison |
| Chassis | W15 |
| Engine | Mercedes-AMG F1 M15 |
| First Podium | France 54 | Fangio, Kling |
| First Win | France 54 | Fangio |
| Last Win | São Paulo 22 | Russell |
| Most Successful Track | Silverstone, UK | 8 wins, 5 x 2nd, 6 x 3rd |
The Drivers
Lewis Hamilton
AGE: 39 | GPs: 336 | Titles: 7 | Wins: 103 | Poles: 104 | Podiums: 197
George Russell
AGE: 26 | GPS: 108 | CHAMP. BEST: 4TH | Wins: 1 | Poles: 1 | Podiums: 11
The Bio
Mercedes-Benz joined Formula 1 in 1954 and achieved immediate success. Juan Manuel Fangio transferred from Maserati to Mercedes for their debut at the French Grand Prix which resulted in a 1-2 for Fangio and new teammate Karl Kling. Fangio took the world title in both 1954 and 1955 but Mercedes left the sport at the end of that season in the wake of the 1955 Le Mans disaster. They would not return to the sport as a constructor for more than half a century.
The Mercedes F1 revival started with the creation of a works squad for 2010 – the platform for a meteoric rise up the grand prix order. The team bought out the one-year wonder that were Brawn GP but could not initially pick up where the double champions had left off, due to the lack of money and thus development available to Brawn through the 2009 season.
They did immediately make headlines, though, with the return of Michael Schumacher after three years in retirement. Their debut season culminated in three podiums, all for Nico Rosberg, and it was the younger German who also claimed the team’s breakthrough pole/victory double at China in 2012. Lewis Hamilton arrived in 2013 and helped move the Silver Arrows up to a second-placed finish in the standings.
And then came the hybrid era. Mercedes produced a totally dominant car in 2014 and the Hamilton-Rosberg pairing transformed from ‘friends since childhood’ to all-out war as the duo battled for the title over the next three years. Hamilton came out on top in the first two years, but Rosberg triumphed – aided by some misfortune for Hamilton – in 2016 before unexpectedly retiring immediately after.
Valtteri Bottas filled his vacant seat and the Silver Arrows continued to sweep all before them to become one of the most dominant forces in Formula 1 history. 2017 and 2018 saw a title challenge from Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel but it was the German marque that prevailed and by 2020 they had successfully taken a record-breaking seventh consecutive double world championship.
2021 saw a refreshed challenge from Red Bull and Max Verstappen, which culminated in a controversial season finale where the team took the constructors’ crown but Hamilton was denied a record-breaking eighth title. Joined by a new, young teammate in compatriot George Russell for 2022, he was unable to make that right as Mercedes struggled with the new regulations.
The Photos
