02 – Mercedes Grand Prix

Credit: Daimler AG

Stats

• Team Principal: Ross Brawn, Norbert Haug
• Factory: Brackley, UK
• Website: brawngp.com
• Drivers: Nico Rosberg, Michael Schumacher
• F1 Debut: France 1954
• Championships: 2 WDC, 0 WCC

Full WCC Results

• 1954 – N/A
• 1955 – N/A
• 2010 -

2010 Preview

From the F1 Digest 2010 Season Preview:

Although the Mercedes name has been associated with F1 since the 1950s, as a constructor, the team have only competed in 12 races. Back then they won a lot of what they were entered in and picked up two titles. For 2010, they are back, and have evolved from the championship winning Brawn GP. Although Ross Brawn is still in charge, the team could not be any different to its predecessor. Far from being the underdog independent entry, Mercedes are taking over the paddock one step at a time, and they have turned the team into a corporate beast that could quite easily win another championship by storming it’s way to the top. Brawn signed up Rosberg from Williams, and tried to retain the services of Jenson Button, but the Brit was keen to look for a new challenge over at McLaren against Lewis Hamilton. Instead, Ross called up his old friend Michael Schumacher, who was already interested in returning following his abandoned comeback in 2009. Rosberg must be wondering what he’s signed himself up for.

With the seven times world champion returning, it’s fair to say that all eyes are on the drivers of Mercedes, or driver anyway. Who even knows what their car looks like? It launched under some very dodgy lighting, but when we finally got to see the livery, it was painted onto an existing Brawn car. The car was revealed a week later – the MGP-W01 (catchy). The most noticeable thing to me about the new car is the air intake above and behind the driver’s head. It’s a completely different shape from what we are used to, more of a flat triangle. As with a lot of the cars on the grid, there are elements of the Red Bull brought into what appears to be an evolution of the Brawn car from 2009, creating a mix of two of the fastest cars on last year’s grid. So far in pre-season testing, they seem to be quite strong, perhaps lacking a little of the reliability that the Brawn was known for. The spped could be there, but we’ll know more in Bahrain. They are known as the Silver Arrows, so it will be interesting to see if they can live up to that title.