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Jenson Button, and the constructor’s championship in 2009, grew out of the ashes of Honda’s F1 entry after Honda had withdrawn from F1 at the end of the 2008 season after only a single Grand Prix win for Button in Hungary 2006.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

 

[RasputinLives]

I'm not digging examples out. You have your view and I have mine and I Don't think we'll really ever come to agree on it.

I do suspect your view might be slightly different if the roles were reversed though.

 

[KekeTheKing]

I'll give one.

I think we all remember who was roundly condemned. 10 spot penalty for next race as well

 

[RasputinLives]

What about this one?

WATCH: Lewis Hamilton battles Nico Rosberg into the first corner of the US GP

 

[KekeTheKing]

I couldn't watch that specific clip but I know the incident. They're not comparable. And I have already conceded previously that Lewis loves to use all the road on corner exit.

This incident was a squeeze/chop/block before even arriving in the braking zone.

 

[RasputinLives]

Wasn't it one driver squeezing another driver off the road in order to maintain position. Seem comparable to me.

I'm not suggesting either is bad. I'm suggesting top drivers do what they can. Sometimes it works out OK and sometimes it doesn't. You can blame Rosberg as much as you want but it's driving instinct from all top drivers.

So racing incident.

 

[KekeTheKing]

Maybe in video games it is instinct to dive across and cover the inside (late) when for one reason or another you are guaranteed to lose a position, but not in Grand Prix racing.

Nico is incredibly fortunate not to be starting 11th or 12th in Monaco.

 

[teabagyokel]

He moved right from the second he exited turn 3 - it is clearly not a late move.

 

[KekeTheKing]

All I know is that I have watched hundreds of hours of Onboard footage since 2009, and that was a blatant block. You don't often see that at this level.

 

[FB]

I have some vague recollection of one Merc driver shoving the other one on to the sand at one of the desert races but I can't remember which way round it was.

 

[FB]

Lewywo4 kindly posted the video in the head to head thread - Head To Head - Nico Rosberg vs Lewis Hamilton

Maybe Nico suffers from similar spatial awareness problems as Roman Grosjean has/had?

 

[teabagyokel]

FB - No-one is saying Rosberg is perfect.

 

[FB]

Indeed not. I think this is one they will both have to put down to experience. The Spa incident had a severe effect on Rosberg's mental state after he got a dressing down from the team. I suspect they will learn from this although given Lauda's outburst it might mean that Lewis is being blamed behind the scenes. Not a PoV I would agree with.

 

[FB]

Just to keep Nico on his toes during contract negotiations - Wolff: Alonso is an option | GRAND PRIX 247

 

[KekeTheKing]

Niki's comments came almost immediately after the incident. I highly doubt he was even aware of the Engine Mode struggles Rosberg encountered. And it seems that Lauda clings religiously to the notion that the onus is always on the following driver to avoid a collison, which is somewhat antiquated as drivers nowadays cannot be counted on to hold their line approaching a corner.

 

[RasputinLives]

Maybe in video games it is instinct to dive across and cover the inside (late) when for one reason or another you are guaranteed to lose a position, but not in Grand Prix racing.

Nico is incredibly fortunate not to be starting 11th or 12th in Monaco.

You have and have always been allowed one move as long as its not in the braking zone.

You can aggressively chuck around the phrases 'junior formula' and 'video game' to label it irresponsible driving all you like but it doesn't change the fact that both drivers actions were understandable and both could have done things differently but didn't. It's called racing. The stewards think that and Merc think that so I'm not really sure (like I said before) why someone who obviously has a great knowledge of motor racing is taking such an aggressive stance against one driver just because their favourite driver didn't win.

Anyway you know my opinion. I'll let you have the last word.

 

[gethinceri]

Anyway you know my opinion. I'll let you have the last word.

He wins if you respond KekeTheKing, best to let it lie.

 

[KekeTheKing]

As I've already said, I wouldn't have had an issue if the cars were on equal footing.

Rosberg lost the right for such a robust defense when he started the race in an incorrect engine mode and started harvesting energy in the third turn.

 

[Incubus]

Regardless of the rights and wrongs I wonder if Hamilton will feel aggrieved at Lauda's initial reaction to the media immediately following the incident. It's not an ideal situation. Sometimes things should be discussed within closed doors and within the team before criticising your own driver to the media...

 

[Wombcat]

Is every topic now going to be about this incident? It's been (briefly) discussed in the race topic, there's a discussion about it in the Rosberg-Hamilton thread, and here as well.

 

[Incubus]

Well, it is on-topic within all three threads.... In fact it could even be on topic in the "Gravel Trap" sections seeing as though that's where they both ended up.