The Mercedes AMG F1 Team are now once again the dominant force in Formula 1 after returning to the sport they had been absent from for over half a century. How did they get there? The team has only seemed to have been in existence for three seasons, but this is only the a small part of a long story stretching back to the Tyrrel team. And to the Mercedes partnership with Peter Sauber and his fledgling outfit.
Tyrrel Formula one team, established in 1970 by Ken Tyrrell, had its greatest period when Jackie Stewart drove the team to three Drivers’ crowns and one Constructors’ trophy. They where also the team that brought us the six wheeled Tyrell P34, a car that was so radical it was banned almost immediately and now is part of Formula 1 folklore. Unfortunately for the team they never really reached those heights again and became also-rans, eventually selling out to the BAR tobacco company.
In 1993 after partnering Sauber to success in other motor racing categories, including Le Mans Mercedes using their Ilmor badge they supplied the Sauber F1 team with engines. In 1994 Mercedes made it official and the team became Sauber Mercedes with the 3.5 Litre V10 C-13 (all Peter Sauber cars are badged C after his wife Christine) At the end of the traumatic ’94 season Mercedes, tempted by an offer from Ron Dennis, moved on to the McLaren where they went on to win three Drivers’ crowns: two for Mika Hakkinen 98-99 and Lewis Hamilton in 2008 and a Constructors’ trophy in 1998.
In 1999 British American tobacco came into the sport as BAR (British American racing) with a big budget and even bigger ambitions running the Supertec engine (the rebadged and once all conquering Renault engine) in their first year and taking on the then world champion Jaques Villenenuve, despite a move to Honda power the project was doomed to failure, and after only six years and no wins, tobacco advertising was banned and BAR sold out to Honda in 2006.
Honda with Jenson Button as lead driver looked a much more promising prospect. They brought in Ross Brawn in 2007 from the dominant Scuderia Ferrari; a man with proven track record of building winning teams. Alas, once again the outfit was thrown into chaos and in 2008 with a worldwide recession Honda were unwilling to continue with their $300 million budget and announced their withdrawal from Formula 1. Honda tried in vein to sell the team but to no avail and were eventually saved by a management buyout headed by Ross Brawn and Nick Fry. They renamed the team Brawn GP and with help from up and down the pit lane not least from Mercedes they where able to run in the 2009 season. What followed was one of the greatest stories in Formula 1; a true rags to riches tale; a team on the brink of disappearing turning into a World Championship winning success story.
With the now banned double diffuser (a clever reading of the rules to enhance the downforce effect of the rear diffuser) Brawn GP took the season by storm with Jenson Button winning six of the first seven races and winning the Drivers’ title and along with Rubens Barrichelo they landed the Constructors’ title for BAR in their maiden and only year of competition. On the 16th of November 2009 it was announced that Daimler AG and Aabar investments had bought a 75.1% stake In Brawn GP and that they would race under the name Mercedes GP from 2010. They brought in an impressive driver pairing; bringing Michael Schumacher out of retirement to partner Nico Rosberg. After deciding to finally close the curtains on his record breaking career Schumacher was replaced with the last man to win a championship with a Mercedes engine; Lewis Hamilton.
The start of the 2014 season has been as dominant as the Fangio-Moss days of the early 1950s. Only time will tell if they can repeat the successes of the legendary Silver Arrows team.
I’m betting they will.
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