Mercedes GP

The first Formula 1 Grand Prix race for Mercedes-Benz was the 1954 French Grand Prix. The World Championship was established in 1950. Prior to the formation of Formula 1, Mercedes had participated in various Grand Prix motor races throughout the 1930s. Mercedes’ debut driver was a transplant formerly at Maserati, the 1951 champion Juan Manuel Fangio. Mercedes carried the race with drivers in both first and second place and secured the fastest lap. Fangio won three additional races in 1954 and earned the championship title.

Following its debut in the 1954 championship, Mercedes continued to refine the W196 for the 1955 season. Juan Fangio secured an additional championship this year and his Mercedes teammate Stirling Moss ranked second.

Despite finishing the 1955 championship successfully, the year took a heavy toll on Mercedes. At the 24 hours of Le Mans motor race, French driver Pierre Levegh died after being ejected from his vehicle as it crashed through the stands. Eighty-three spectators were killed in the crash. No driver was held responsible for the crash, and the official inquiry largely blamed the layout of the track itself. Following the 1955 season, Mercedes withdrew from motor racing and would not return with a Formula 1 team for decades.

In late 2009, Daimer AG, the parent company for Mercedes-Benz, purchased a 45.1% stake in the Brawn GP team. A sponsorship with Petronas was later secured and the team was rebranded as the Mercedes GP Petronas Formula 1 Team. With the new team, Mercedes would be eligible for the Constructors’’ Championship for the first time as it was created after the team left Formula 1 racing in 1955.

The uber-successful and seven-time Formula 1 World Champion Michael Schumacher was announced as part of Mercedes GP’s first team in December 2009. Following a successful run at Ferrari, Schumacher had taken a three-year absence from Formula 1 racing. He was joined on the inaugural team by Nico Rosberg and test and reserve driver Nick Hedfield.

The team underperformed in the 2010 season with the exception of a fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship. Schumacher failed to achieve a win, podium placement, pole position or fastest lap. Teammate Nico Rosberg did make the podium three times with third place finishes. He ranked seventh in the World Championship.

At the 2012 Chinese Grand Prix, Nico Rosberg obtained the first pole position for the newly rebranded Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team. It was the first for the team since 1955. The team later secured its first win in 57 years at the race when Nico Rosberg finished first.

Mercedes announced Lewis Hamilton would leave McLaren for the 2013 season. Hamilton’s deal was for a three-year partnership at Mercedes alongside Nico Rosberg.

Nico Rosberg helped Mercedes secure the first team win at the 2013 Monaco Grand Prix and later placed first at the British GP. Hamilton contributed a third place win at the Canadian Grand Prix and a first place at the Hungarian GP. These wins helped Mercedes place ahead of Ferrari and achieve a second place in the Constructors’ Championship.

Following on 2013 successes, 2014 was a banner year for Mercedes with Nico Rosberg winning the Australian GP, the first race of the season. At the Malaysian GP, Lewis Hamilton achieved a grand slam, winning the race with Rosberg ranking second for a 1-2 finish, the first Mercedes had earned since the 1955 Italian Grand Prix. This followed at three other races before Rosberg and Hamilton switched positions in the Monaco and Austrian races. Coupled with other victories, Hamilton secured the 2014 World Championship with Rosberg following. Mercedes also won the Constructors’ Championship with a margin of 296 points. Hamilton and the team repeated in 2015.

Following another year of Mercedes dominance on the race track, Nico Rosberg secured his first and only World Championship. Five days after winning, he announced his retirement, shaking up the winning formula. In 2016, the team won its third consecutive Constructors’ Championship, and Hamilton ranked second in the World Championship. The team won 19 of 21 races. Valtteri Bottas would replace Rosberg on the team the next year.

Mercedes tied a record set by the acknowledged greatest Ferrari team and car combo of all time with a fifth consecutive drivers’ title and constructors’ title in 2018. Lewis Hamilton secured his fourth championship with 11 race wins.

Setting a new record for consecutive title wins, Mercedes secured its sixth Constructors’ Championship with Lewis Hamilton again winning the World Championship.

In a racing year altered by COVID-19, Mercedes-AMG earned its seventh consecutive drivers’ and constructors’ titles. Lewis Hamilton clenched the World Championship two weeks later on November 15.

British driver George Russell joined countryman Lewis Hamilton for the 2022 Mercedes team. Russell replaced Valtteri Bottas and as of August 27, 2022 is fourth in driver’s standings for the World Championship with Hamilton trailing at sixth. Mercedes Is sixth in constructors’ standings behind Red Bull and Ferrari. 

Lewis Hamilton’s streak at the top was halted in 2021 by Red Bull racer Max Verstappen, but Mercedes continued its dominance as a constructor with an unprecedented eighth straight win.