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Jenson Button, and the constructor’s championship in 2009, grew out of the ashes of Honda’s F1 entry after Honda had withdrawn from F1 at the end of the 2008 season after only a single Grand Prix win for Button in Hungary 2006.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.

 

[racecub]

I'm not sure I follow

 

[downforce]

Lewis > Hamilton

 

[racecub]

I think I'm missing something here....Im being particularly dumb.

Hamilton's speed that got him those poles is going to Mercedes. So that will help Mercedes particularly in qualifying. He won't be competing against himself, he will be taking his skill elsewhere and competing against his old team, 'McLaren, and all the other teams.

Have I got it wrong

 

[teabagyokel]

I certainly believe Hamilton can qualify ahead of McLarens on a semi-regular basis. I fear Button and Perez would both get past him if/when that happens.

 

[racecub]

Agree. Unless that Mercedes has made leaps. It might.

 

[Mephistopheles]

I don't really know why people think it will be an achievement if the Mercedes out qualifies the McLaren on occasions this season in the hands of Lewis or Nico after all the Merc out qualified both McLarens in China, Spain, Monaco, Britain and Germany last year I know Spain is dubious but Lewis was light on fuel which gave him a speed advantage....

The fact is I will be very surprised if Mercedes DON'T out qualify the McLarens at times....

 

[F1ang-o]

last year I know Spain is dubious but Lewis was light on fuel which gave him a speed advantage.......

Was this McLaren's 150th pole...?
Lewis would still have been fastest....if he had 5L of fuel in his car.
I think the engineer that was sorting his fuel for his flying lap in Q3...took out fuel..instead of putting it in, realised what he done so put some in..but messed up on the final amount....
It seemed unfair...because LH was not to blame.............. & the shortage of fuel did not account for his pole.

 

[racecub]

Wasn't he outrageously ahead? Something like a second? Which would not have accounted for the fuel difference.
@Mephistopheles I think what people are saying is that if Mercedes could out qualify McLaren last year, they will do so more often this year with Lewis on board.

 

[Mephistopheles]

I did say Spain was dubious so take it out of the equation my point still stands the Merc wasn't a dog in qualifying.....

 

[teabagyokel]

racecub F1ang-o If I recall correctly, he was fastest in Q1 and 2, he had a comfortable cushion on Maldonado in Q3, enough to suggest he'd be on pole regardless. As for the race, McLaren were way down simply because Button was in his rubbish period and Hamilton was nursing tyres.

Mephistopheles - Britain and Germany were wet, Spain is a technicality and I'm sort of assuming the China/Monaco performance won't be repeated in 2013. But I suppose Mercedes task will be aided by the fact that one of F1's top two qualifiers is now at Mercedes and two of F1's more questionable Saturday men are at McLaren.

 

[Brogan]

Is Hamilton really expected to be that much better than Rosberg at qualifying?

I'd be surprised if there was more than a quarter of a second between the two.

Still, I'm fascinated to see just how the two of them compare.

 

[Mephistopheles]

I understand that teabagyokel and I am not trying to put Lewis down all I am saying is the Merc was a reasonable car in qualifying terms last year plenty of Q3 appearances and a poll to boot so what I don't understand is why it should be any different this coming season and by the tone of the thread it suggest that if that happens it will be down to Lewis alone....

This does not detract from the fact that Lewis has got great one lap speed....

Edit

I should never have mentioned Spain as it seems to have detracted from the point of my post...

 

[racecub]

I don't think Nico is any slouch, but a quarter of a second.......that could be the difference between pole and 3rd or 4 th row of the grid. That's significant.

 

[teabagyokel]

Mephistopheles - By the end of the season, that car was a slouch.

 

[Tacitus]

It's really interesting how the number of comments on this thread has shot up since the Hamilton move!

 

[Fenderman]

... but not in the least surprising.

 

[Il_leone]

the last few seasons we've seen Mercedes be top 4 at the start closer to the other 3 and then they fall away as the season progressed

their fundamental problem has been they destroy the tyres too quickly..which is a change from previous problems where they lose performance if their tyres are not up to temperature in the Honda/ BAr days

they are closer to the front 3 when the circuits have long straights..ie CHina, Spa

I think Hamilton may mask the true pace of the Mercedes in quali at times like he did with Mclaren

 

[Mephistopheles]

Mephistopheles - By the end of the season, that car was a slouch.

Yes because Mercedes realized they had gone down a blind ally with the type of DRS (That type is banned for this year.) they had developed and gave up on developing the car further....

 

[teabagyokel]

I maintain, Mephistopheles, I don't think both Mercedes will outqualify both McLarens in the dry in 2013. Please take a note of this for my egg/face interaction moment.

I'm sure RasputinLives will

 

[Lewywo4]

..

This does not detract from the fact that Lewis has got great one lap speed......

His race pace isn't too bad either....