Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team

Prior to life as the dominating Mercedes team, the Brackley squad has seen many changes and success in its time in Formula One. Founded by the late Ken Tyrrell, the team began life as Tyrrell Racing, joining the grid in 1968 after a decade in lower formulae. Sir Jackie Stewart would race for the team from the beginning, until his retirement from the sport in 1973, winning two of his World Championships with the squad in 1971 and 73 – also finishing runner up in 1972. Tragically, Stewart’s protégé the talented Francois Cevert was killed in practice during the final race of the 1973 season, meaning the team lost their two biggest talents at the end of 1973. Despite not contending for championships post-Stewart, the Tyrrell team were consistently toward the front of the grid, winning races with Jody Scheckter, Patrick Depailler and Michele Alboreto in the 1970s and 80s. The final win for the team under the Tyrrell name was with Michele Alboreto in the 1983 Spanish Grand Prix, as the team’s resources and results slowly began to wane. Jean Alesi made his debut with the team in 1989, the Tyrrell squad also running well-known names as Martin Brundle, Stefan Bellof, Mika Salo and Jos Verstappen during their time in F1. With performance dropping, Ken Tyrrell opted to sell the team to British American Tobacco in 1997, the 1998 season being the last with the Tyrrell name in F1 – a quiet season with zero points on the board. 1999 began with high hopes for the new BAR team, fielding 1997 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve alongside the promising Ricardo Zonta. Flashes of pace but poor reliability were the theme of BAR’s first season, finishing last in the Constructor’s Championship – again with no points. Performances gradually improved across the next few seasons, Villeneuve collecting two podiums in the 2001 season. 2004 was to be the high point as BAR, Jenson Button and Takuma Sato helping the team to an excellent 2nd in the Constructor’s behind Ferrari, the team collecting 11 podiums and consistently being the ‘best of the rest’. Honda – who had provided the engines for BAR since 2000, purchased the team in 2005, becoming Honda Racing for three seasons. Still with Button delivering consistent results, the team did not hit the highs of 2004 in the Constructor’s, but broke through for a drought-breaking win for the squad – Button winning the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix. Honda would exit F1 at the end of the 2008 season in a sudden move – leaving Button, teammate Rubens Barrichello and the factory unsure of their future. An eleventh hour rescue from Ross Brawn saved the team, renamed Brawn GP with Mercedes engines for 2009. What to follow was one of Formula One’s biggest ‘Cinderella stories’, the team getting the technical regulation changes right and winning both Driver’s and Constructor’s Championships, Button taking his first Driver’s Championship. The team was sold to Mercedes and became the current version of the team for 2010, with Michael Schumacher coming out of retirement alongside Nico Rosberg. Mercedes’ first win in its current guise came in the 2012 Chinese Grand Prix at the hands of Rosberg. Lewis Hamilton moved across from McLaren to the Mercedes team for 2013, he and Rosberg sharing three wins on the way to second in the Constructor’s Championship. What was to follow was a dominance not seen in the history of Formula One – the change in power unit regulations, and a Lewis Hamilton at his peak meant Mercedes from 2014 through 2021 were barely challenged, winning an unprecedented eight consecutive Constructor’s titles: Hamilton taking six Driver’s titles and Rosberg the 2016 title before his retirement. Valtteri Bottas took Rosberg’s seat for 2017, collecting ten wins in his five seasons with the team. Mercedes protégé George Russell moved to the team for 2022 after three seasons learning the ropes with Williams. While 2022 was not as dominant or successful for Mercedes, the team bounced back from a tough start to finish third in the Constructor’s – Russell taking his first victory in F1 at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Hamilton and Russell remain the team’s two drivers for 2023 as they look to bounce back to the top of F1.