MERCEDES | A STORY OF INNOVATION, EVOLUTION, AND DOMINATION OF SILVER ARROWS IN FORMULA 1
Love of Invention Will Never Die
If you are a fan of Formula 1 or Motorsport racing, you must have heard of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas team, one of the most successful and dominant teams in the history of motorsport. 🏎
But do you know how this team emerged and what makes it so special??
In this story, we will go through the journey of the past, present, and future of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 team. ⏳
So, Let's Begin…
HOW IT BEGINS
The history of Mercedes goes very long into the early 19th century when the concept of motor engines was a fantasy and the idea of motorcars was a myth.
However, at that time there were some people who believed in those ideas, one of them was “Gottlieb Daimler” born in 1834 in Schorndorf, Germany, and “Carl Benz” born in 1844 in Mannheim, Germany — both of them are automobile engineers, both of them worked on their designs of engines and opened up their separate companies named as Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft — Daimler Motors Corporation (DMG), which then changed to Mercedes afterward and Benz & Companie Rheinische Gasmotoren-Fabrik (Benz & Cie) respectively.
They were the inventors & revolutionists of their time who introduced different types of engines that laid the foundation for our current motorcar engines.
So, after World War-I broke the economic situation got worse all around the world due to which the board members of (Mercedes) & (Benz & Cie) signed a merger pact and begin the designing & production of the cars under the new name and logo of “Mercedez-Benz”.
This logo is also the merger of two companies emblems, the “three-way headed star” was the emblem of Mercedes, and the “laurel wreath” was the emblem of Benz & Cie.
So, after their merger the new company “Mercedez-Benz” sold more cars than they were selling individually and it was all because of the quality, safety & elegance of their cars that attracted many people around the world and since then Mercedes-Benz becomes the trademark of Germany as the most luxurious & elegant car manufactures of the word.
MERCEDES-BENZ IN F1
The story of Mercedes in F1 begins in the early years of motor racing, even before the term “motor racing” was coined. Mercedes has been involved in racing since the late 19th century when it produced some of the first automobiles in the world.
In the 1930s, Mercedes-Benz and its Silver Arrows dominated Grand Prix racing in Europe, winning three European Championships with legendary drivers like Rudolf Caracciola and Manfred von Brauchitsch.
Mercedes-Benz made its debut in Formula 1 in 1954, after a hiatus during World War II. The team hired Juan Manuel Fangio, arguably the greatest driver of all time, and gave him a powerful and innovative car, the W196.
Fangio won four races out of six and clinched the 1954 Drivers’ Championship. He repeated this feat in 1955, winning four out of seven races and securing his second title with Mercedes.
The team also won their first and only Constructors’ Championship that year. However, after a tragic accident at Le Mans that killed more than 80 people, Mercedes-Benz withdrew from motor racing at the end of 1955.
RETURN OF MERCEDES-BENZ IN F1 AS A ENGINE SUPPLIER
Mercedes-Benz returned to Formula 1 in 1994 as an engine supplier, partnering with Ilmor, a British engineering company. The engines were branded as Mercedes-Benz and supplied to teams like Sauber, McLaren, and Force India.
The most successful partnership was with McLaren, which lasted from 1995 to 2014. Together, they won one Constructors’ Championship in 1998 and three Drivers’ Championships with Mika Hakkinen in 1998 and 1999 and Lewis Hamilton in 2008.
FULLFLEDGE RETURN OF MERCEDES-BENZ IN F1 MOTORSPORT
In 2010, Mercedes-Benz bought the Brawn GP team, which had won both titles in 2009 with Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello. The team was rebranded as Mercedes GP Petronas Formula One Team.
The Brawn GP 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.
The first few years of Mercedes as a team were not very successful, as they struggled to compete with Red Bull, Ferrari, and McLaren. The best result was third place in the Constructors’ Championship in 2013, with three wins by Nico Rosberg and one by Lewis Hamilton, who had joined the team from McLaren in 2013.
However, everything changed in 2014, when a major change in car design regulations introduced turbocharged hybrid engines. Mercedes had been preparing for this change for years and had developed a superior engine that gave them a huge advantage over their rivals.
The team dominated the season, winning 16 out of 19 races and both titles (World Driver’s Championship & World Constructor’s Championship) with ease. Hamilton beat Rosberg to the Drivers’ Championship by 67 points.
This was the start of an unprecedented era of dominance for Mercedes, who have won every single title since then. From 2014 to 2020, they won seven consecutive Drivers’ titles (six by Hamilton and one by Rosberg) and seven consecutive Constructors’ titles (a record in F1 history).
They have also set records for most wins in a season (19 in 2016), most one-two finishes (12 in 2015), most pole positions (24 in 2016), and most points (765 in 2016).
DAWN OF THE DOMINANT ERA OF MERCEDES-AMG PETRONAS F1 TEAM
Mercedes's era of dominance was a great feat of pure ingenuity, passion, dedication & team effort that was written in history books and will be remembered as the “Most Dominant Team of F1 History That Won 8-consecutive titles” till the end of the world.
However, every rise must have its dawn at some point and even the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team was not immune to this, so, in Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2021, it lost to Red Bulls due to some technicalities that shattered the team's hopes for adding another title in their record books & clinched the chance from Lewis Hamilton of winning his 8th World Drivers championship that impacted heavily on his confidence.
Since, then Mercedes are struggling with the new changes in car design regulations and trying to keep up with its competitors.
However, they are a strong team with a great winning history in Formula 1, so, in this season of 2023, they are still very strong & optimistically learning about their new W14 car and improving it little by little and making progress with every passing weekend.
Conclusive Thoughts
This year they might not get the chance to challenge Red Bulls because of their sheer lack of pace & reliability issues but hopefully, we could see them fighting head-to-head with Red Bulls and margin their way forward towards the Championship titles.
However, members of FIA are working on their mission of “Zero-Emission by 2030”, therefore, they are changing car design regulations every year that make the F1 cars more environmentally friendly as they will run on synthetic fuel that would cause at least 65% less carbon emission as compared to the current cars that are running on a 90% fossil fuels and 10% renewable ethanol from plant waste.
Therefore, in order to control emission and to make cars more environmentally friendly, they are planning to return to the old short & lightweight F1 cars which also reduces the gears from 8 to 6 and it will run only on synthetic fuel (made up of either carbon capture system, municipal waste or non-food biomass).
So, keeping these changes in mind, every year with a new season it's getting difficult for teams to make a car that will be dominant as well as satisfies the regulations of FIA.
However, the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team has proven to be adaptable and innovative in the past and will surely fight hard to maintain its supremacy and glory with the help of its experienced engineers & drivers they will be back on top in a matter of few seasons with more dominance and power.
I hope you enjoyed this mesmerizing story and learned something new about the Mercedes F1 team. Let me know in the comments your thoughts about the origin of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team.
If you are a fan of the Silver Arrows and Formula 1, then Follow me for more stories like this and if there is something you liked about this story, then let me know in the comments.
While you are at it check out the following stories, if you are completely new to the Formula 1 world or if you are curious to more about the World of Formula 1;
👉 Formula 1 | A Guide For Beginner’s | Rules, Cars, Teams, Drivers & Point System
👉 FORMULA 1 WORLD | The Most Prestigious Motorsport In The World
👉 Formula 1 | Story of Flags You Should Know
👉 Formula 1 | Story & History of Tyers
Take care of yourself and enjoy the rest of my stories and until you finish reading them, I’ll meet you with a new story!!👋
