Mercedes, currently competing as Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team, are among the most successful Formula 1 teams with eight constructors’ and nine drivers’ titles yet.
The Silver Arrows made their return to the F1 grid in 2010 after buying Brawn GP. Mercedes had only operated as an engine manufacturer since the 1994 season after briefly partnering with Sauber, before supplying engines to McLaren, Force India, Williams, Lotus and Manor.
Mercedes’ High Performance Powertrains (HPP) department today supply engines to Aston Martin, McLaren and Williams. While Mercedes returned as an F1 constructor in 2010 after 55 years, having previously competed in the pinnacle of motorsport during 1954 and 1955.
Mercedes AMG F1 Team name
The name, Mercedes AMG F1 Team, denotes the moniker for Mercedes Benz’s high-calibre luxury sports cars. AMG means Aufrecht Melcher Grossaspach after Mercedes’ founders, Hans-Werner Aufrecht and Erhard Melcher plus the German city where Aufrecht was born.
Mercedes AMG F1 Team founding year
Mercedes originally founded their Formula 1 team in 1954 when the series adopted 2.5 litre, un-supercharged engines. It marked the Silver Arrows’ first return to Grand Prix racing post-World War II. But the team only contested two seasons before Mercedes returned in 2010.
Mercedes AMG F1 Team current team principal
Mercedes AMG F1 Team hired Toto Wolff as their team principal in January 2013. He initially joined after the Daimler AG board asked Wolff to analyse the Silver Arrows’ F1 performance. But Wolff also acquired a 30% stake and assumed the role of Mercedes’ head of motorsport.
Wolff has overall responsibility for Mercedes’ works motorsport programmes and increased his ownership stake in their F1 team in December 2020. The Austrian entrepreneur owns an equal 33% stake in Mercedes AMG F1 Team alongside Daimler AG and Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS.
Mercedes AMG F1 Team current drivers
Mercedes AMG F1 Team have Lewis Hamilton and George Russell as their two race drivers. Hamilton quit McLaren to join the Silver Arrows in 2013, while Russell switched to Brackley from Williams in 2022. But Hamilton will leave Mercedes for Ferrari after the 2024 season.
What engine do Mercedes AMG F1 Team use?
Mercedes AMG F1 Team use the M15 E Performance 1.6 V6 turbo-hybrid power unit made by their HPP engine division. The Silver Arrows have only ever competed in Formula 1 with cars powered by engines of their own design during their initial spell and their return to F1.
Team lineage
Mercedes AMG F1 Team can trace their squad’s routes all the way back to the Tyrrell Racing Organisation. Ken Tyrrell founded his team in 1958, before breaking into Formula 1 a decade later. Tyrrell continued to race in the pinnacle of motorsport all the way through until 1998.
The Tyrrell team also entered 465 Grand Prix and also won the 1971 Formula 1 constructors’ title, plus drivers’ championships with Jackie Stewart in 1969, 1971 and 1973. Although the team ran under the Matra name in 1969 as Tyrrell worked in partnership with the company.
Tyrrell drove their final race at the 1998 Japanese GP before British American Racing (BAR) bought the team. BAR initially used Supertec engines but made a deal to use Honda engines from 2000. The BAR team further operated out of the Brackley factory Mercedes use today.
Honda, ultimately, took BAR over in September 2005 after buying the remaining 55% shares in the team after purchasing 45% in November 2004. So, the team also became Honda as of the 2006 Formula 1 season, with their return as an F1 constructor coming at the Bahrain GP.
Honda previously owned an F1 team after entering the series in 1964 but pulled the plug on their project in 1968. Yet the Japanese automotive powerhouse later returned in 1983 as an engine constructor. Their 1983 return, ultimately, led the foundation to returning as a team.
But the global financial crisis in 2008 saw Honda announce their withdrawal from Formula 1 that December with immediate effect. Running an F1 team was costing Honda £300m a year at the time. But team principal Ross Brawn led a rescue act and bought Honda for simply £1.
Martin Whitmarsh, in his Formula 1 Team’s Association (FOTA) role, also convinced McLaren to forgo their exclusivity deal with Mercedes so Brawn could run their engines. But it would lay the foundations for Mercedes to return to F1 as a constructor by buying Brawn in 2009.
Mercedes purchased 75.1% of the shares in Brawn GP in November 2009 after the team had won the drivers’ championship with Jenson Button and the constructors’ championship. The miracle of Brawn GP made full use of all of Honda’s hard work before F1’s regulation change.
Button secured his 2009 drivers’ title at the Brazilian GP to fend off Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull. Brawn GP’s limited finances meant the team barely upgraded their car all season. But a genius double diffuser allowed them to start that campaign strongly after finding a loophole.
Mercedes AMG F1 Team drivers’ championships
Mercedes are one of the most successful Formula 1 teams having taken nine drivers to an F1 championship to date. Juan Manuel Fangio secured the Silver Arrows’ first title back in 1954 during the constructors’ debut season. While Lewis Hamilton is their most successful driver.
1954 – Juan Manuel Fangio (42 points)
1955 – Juan Manuel Fangio (40 points)
2014 – Lewis Hamilton (384 points)
2015 – Lewis Hamilton (381 points)
2016 – Nico Rosberg (385 points)
2017 – Lewis Hamilton (363 points)
2018 – Lewis Hamilton (408 points)
2019 – Lewis Hamilton (413 points)
2020 – Lewis Hamilton (347 points)
Mercedes AMG F1 Team constructors’ championships
Mercedes are one of the most successful teams in Formula 1 history with eight constructors’ championships so far. Yet the Silver Arrows did not claim their first team’s title until the start of F1’s turbo-hybrid power unit era in the 2014 term with Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.
2014 (701 points) – Lewis Hamilton (384 points), Nico Rosberg (317 points)
2015 (703 points) – Lewis Hamilton (381 points), Nico Rosberg (322 points)
2016 (765 points) – Nico Rosberg (385 points), Lewis Hamilton (380 points)
2017 (668 points) – Lewis Hamilton (363 points), Valtteri Bottas (305 points)
2018 (655 points) – Lewis Hamilton (408 points), Valtteri Bottas (247 points)
2019 (739 points) – Lewis Hamilton (413 points), Valtteri Bottas (326 points)
2020 (573 points) – Lewis Hamilton (347 points), Valtteri Bottas (223 points)
2021 (613.5 points) – Lewis Hamilton (387.5 points), Valtteri Bottas (226 points)
Mercedes AMG F1 Team factory base
Mercedes moved into their current base in Brackley in 2010 after purchasing Brawn GP, who already occupied the factory. The Silver Arrows’ site is a 60,000-square metre complex and it includes their wind tunnel, dynos, production areas and the team’s driver-in-loop simulator.
The factory is also the home base for Mercedes-AMG F1 Applied Science and even holds the international environmental management system certification ISO 14001. It runs on 100% renewable energy sources and even received the FIA’s Three Star Certification in 2020, too.
But they also have a second base in Brixworth, which is the factory for Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains (HPP). The site opened in 1984 but it has been responsible for the design and development of every Mercedes engine to power any Formula 1 car since 1995.
Factory address
Mercedes AMG F1 Team: Operations Centre, Brackley, West Northamptonshire, NN13 7BD
Mercedes AMG HPP: Morgan Drive, Brixworth, Northamptonshire, NN6 9GZ
Mercedes AMG F1 Team contact details
Website: mercedesamgf1.com
Mercedes AMG HPP Phone: +44 (0)1604 880100
General enquiries: enquiries@mercedesamgf1.com
Recruitment: recruitment@mercedesamgf1.com
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