Current Mercedes

Mercedes GP

FIA Entry: Mercedes GP Petronas F1 Team
Car 7: Michael Schumacher
Car 8: Nico Rosberg
Engine: Mercedes V8
Team Principal: Ross Brawn
Technical Director: Bob Bell
Race Engineer Car 7: Mark Slade
Race Engineer Car 8: Tony Ross

Stats as of end 2010

First Entered 2010
Races Entered 19
Race Wins 0
Pole Positions 0
Fastest Laps 0
Driver World Championships 0
Constructor World Championships 0

Team History

The Mercedes team history splits into two parts. In 1954 the famous pre-war Silver Arrows entered the F1 world championship and recorded a 1-2 at their first race. Fangio went on to win the drivers championship that year and again in 1955. Mercedes withdrew at the end of the 1955 season after the accident which killed 80 spectators at Le Mans which involved one of their cars.

The current team entered F1 in 2010 after Mercedes bought Brawn Grand Prix. Brawn Grand Prix, winners of the Drivers Championship, with Jenson Button, and the constructor’s championship in 2009, grew out of the ashes of Honda’s F1 entry after Honda had withdrawn from F1 at the end of the 2008 season after only a single Grand Prix win for Button in Hungary 2006.

Prior to the Honda takeover in 2006 the team had raced under the name of British America racing which had acquired the assets and race entry of the Tyrrell F1 team in 1999. BAR competed in 118 races without a single victory. The high points for the team were 2 pole positions (both for Button – San Marino 2004 and Canada 2005) and 2nd in the constructors championship in 2004.

Tyrrell were amongst the most successful private F1 teams taking part in 463 Grands Prix, scoring 33 victories and 3 Drivers Championships, all with Jackie Stewart.

2010

Having replaced Button and Barrichello with Nico Rosberg and 7 times WDC Michael Schumacher many expected great things of the new Mercedes team in 2010 but they had an indifferent season.

Rosberg managed 3 podiums for the team but Schumacher, coming back from retirement, struggled with the new cars, tyres and limited testing under the revised regulations. The team finished 4th in the Constructors Championship.

2011

For 2011 Mercedes retain the same driver line up and are hoping for better things from their MGP W02 chassis.

 

[Jos the Boss]

Everyone seen this? http://www.crash.net/f1/news/187056/1/fia_crash_test_passes_for_mercedes_and_ferrari.html

 

[Jos the Boss]

@MercAMGF1Fans on Twitter made a mock of what the car might look like

And an article http://mercamgf1-fans.com/2012/12/29/ultra-compact-amg-w04/

 

[ExtremeNinja]

I completely agree with you, The Pits and also that most is an exaggeration of my point. I do however think that there is a possibility that their team may find a settled maturity in it's operational structure and hierarchy which may prove to be efficient, competent and formidable. They have all of the ingredients and now it is just about refining the recipe, if you will excuse my analogy. For that reason I cannot write them off at any level of competition. We know that in a former and proposedly weaker guise that they managed to handle a championship campaign extremely well and to the ultimate prize. I refer to the signature on my posts: "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity". I cannot believe that they are doing everything to both create opportunity and to be prepared for opportunity when it arises and that in this sense they are not creating the potential of a formidable threat. Their success or failure will depend on the team and whether or not they can reach the potential of the components that they have. I ,for one, hope that they can achieve this and would as much like to see their success as teams such as Williams, Sauber, Force India. Perhaps I am the inherent supporter of the underdog and as such am mired with delusion. I guess that the difference that I see between teams like Williams (currently), Force India and Sauber are that, adversely to Mercedes, they are approaching their seasons with a lower prize as a goal. Mercedes give the impression of a team that want to go out and win the championship rather than a team that wants to move up the placings against their mid-field rivals. Their chances may be slimmer than those who they would consider to be their direct rivals but I would still hesitate to give odds against them.

Apologies for my diatribe and if I have over embellished my point. Please blame the hour of the night.

 

[teabagyokel]

ExtremeNinja - We're not doubting Mercedes' preparation, we severely doubt their opportunity.

 

[racecub]

You don't think Merecedes have an opportunity to do well? You mean this year or ever?

 

[ExtremeNinja]

To write off any opportunity that Mercedes may have to succeed is surely bonkers, if you would excuse me. Motorsport is one of the most opportunistic endeavours that one could undertake. It is why we often find ourselves sidetracked and wrapped up in debates about luck on this forum.

 

[Il_leone]

It may well depend on how Ross is allowed to manage the team compared if he now directly reports to the Board without Norbert interfering

The bosses have already stated they are not increasing the funding for the team

 

[racecub]

Maybe it's already well funded.

 

[Il_leone]

racecub

Mercedes ' budget is lesser than Red Bull's and Ferrari

 

[racecub]

I've just been ferreting around the web and found this
http://www.worldcarfans.com/112110350154/mercedes-to-boost-f1-budget-for-2013---report
It says they've boosted the f1 budget for next year by44 mil putting it up to 200mil euros. I don't know how that compares to Ferrari and Red Bull, but it certainly doesn't sound like a frozen budget. It sounds like serious intent.

 

[F1ang-o]

racecub
Best news I've heard for a while.....

 

[teabagyokel]

racecub - I was referring to 2013, their opportunity should come next winter.

 

[racecub]

Yes I think you're right, their best chance to jump forward is 2014, but I wouldn't right them off next year, they're serious about it. It might not work out......but it might do. I'm not holding my breathe for next year....well actually I lie, I am holding my breathe, hopefully, one never knows in this game.

 

[Il_leone]

racecub

€250m is Red Bull's budget apparently who some believe are not following the RRA guidelines within FOTA

If you read the article the last line ended with Norbert Haug saying there will be no 30% increase for Mercedes

Its a reallocation of finance but it is going to take them time to get the front

If people want to compare to Red Bull who did not achieve much in 4 years as a midfield team to suddenly a front runner was due to new rules which allowed Adrian Newey the opportunity to exploit big gains

Therefore if Mercedes are serious then 2014 is a possibility..they need to see 2013 as being able to get closer to the top 3 which they have failed to do so

 

[racecub]

I did read that last line, which seemed at odds with the rest of the article. I've read elsewhere that, like you say, it's a redistribution of money with some coming out of the DTM budget and I guess for Norbet that means no increase,because he was head of all Mercedes. However for the F1 team it is an increase, a big increase.

 

[The Pits]

They need to pay for Lewis somehow

 

[racecub]

Indeed they do. But that increase would pay for more than two Lewises.

 

[The Pits]

Hence the wink.

 

[downforce]

Aero changes cause Mercedes slump

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/104970

Depends how much stock you put in that. They were pretty good before said slump, although it may just be an excuse so.....

 

[ExtremeNinja]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/gossip/

Mercedes' 2013 challenger has passed crash-tests and will be very Red-Bull-esque with a tight rear end packaged around a small gearbox. They reckon that they have found 1.5s of the deficit that they are trying to reduce against the front runners, based on thier wind tunnel data. You would have to assume that, with the banning of the coander exhaust concept, that the front runners will also have fallen backwards towards them. Of course, none of this matters if they don't finish races but promising sounds coming from the team.