1 Racing Mind’s 2020 Formula 1 Mid-Season Team Report Card: Mercedes-AMG

 

Photo Credit: LAT Images for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix

Team Grade: A

Driver’s Grade:

Lewis Hamilton: A+

Valtteri Bottas: B+

Summary of First Nine Races:

Despite the delay in the 2020 season, the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team appeared in Austria ready to dominant in the same fashion as previous years  maintaining its edge over the competition. A top driver lineup consisting of six-time and reigning Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton paired with Finland’s Valtteri Bottas, the superiorly-engineered Mercedes-AMG F1 W11 EQ Performance race car as well as a strong support crew at the race track and at headquarters has proven to be the combination cementing an ongoing dynasty. In the first nine races of the 2020 Formula 1 season, Mercedes-AMG group has won seven grand prix events and has taken pole after every qualifying session. Lewis Hamilton has won six races already in 2020 and left the Tuscan Grand Prix with a commanding 45-point lead over teammate Bottas. The only major change within the team compared to previous years is the primarily black colour scheme adopted to support social equality. 

Innovating to stay ahead, this year’s car caught the ire of competitors by deploying a Dual Axis Steering (DAS) system that allows Mercedes drivers to adjust the front toe of the vehicle. DAS was permitted to operate on this year’s Mercedes-AMG F1 W11 EQ Performance car but will be banned for 2021. Competitors also attempted to negate Mercedes’ perceived edge in qualifying by eliminating a special engine setting. So-called ‘Party Mode’, the Mercedes-Benz power unit could run at an especially high performance level for a brief time. During the Italian Grand Prix round, a single engine mode was mandated for qualifying and the race. The notion that the special engine setting with the Mercedes-Benz power units was a key advantage over the competition appears to be little more than a red herring.

The reason for the ‘A’ grade rather an ‘A+’ was due to two instances. This year’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone, while ultimately a victorious outing for the Mercedes-AMG team, was also a minor embarrassment as both vehicles suffered late-race tire failures. Though many teams were left concerned with their tires throughout the race, the Mercedes-AMG cars endured the most dramatic instances of wear perhaps contributed to their reliably quick pace. Lewis Hamilton crossing the line on only three inflated tires could be one of the team’s chaotic wins. The second mishap for the Mercedes-AMG team was at Monza where Hamilton’s car came to pit road when they were closed costing the Brit the Italian Grand Prix victory. In the week following the unusual event in Italy, the team has explained and acknowledged the mistake learning how to avoid it in the future. 

 

Prediction for Rest of the 2020 Season:

Heading into Russia with a 152-point lead in the Formula 1 Constructors Championship, the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team on the path to easily ride to a seventh-consecutive team title. Lewis Hamilton is also in prime position to clinch his seventh Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship currently leading in the season-long standings by 55 points over teammate Valtteri Bottas. For Bottas, Mercedes-AMG has been impressed enough with his performance this season to lock him into a contract for 2021. 

The addition of new race tracks to the 2020 Formula 1 schedule may serve as a wild card to the German factory team. However, the Mercedes-AMG F1 team’s ability to spoil Ferrari’s party at Mugello only goes to show the organization’s adaptiveness as another one of the squad’s high-ranking qualities.

Rosberg Flies the Mercedes Flag in Canadian Grand Prix Qualifying

Photo Credit: Andrew Hone/ Pirelli

Two weeks after another memorable running of the Monaco Grand Prix, the enthusiasm of the 22-car 2014 Formula 1 season has jumped over the Atlantic Ocean. The first stop in North America for 2014, the Canadian Grand Prix held on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve provides an interesting combination of long, high-speed stretches and heavy braking areas.

The 4.361-kilometer track's now regular June date is typically a point in the Formula 1 season where the have and have-not teams are aware of where they stand on the grid. While the historically strong but under-performing teams for 2014 such as Ferrari and McLaren will be re-evaluating their efforts for a more productive season moving forward, the Mercedes AMG team is at the top of the Formula 1 world entering the 2014 Canadian Grand Prix race weekend.

While Fernando Alonso topped the first practice session on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Friday, the Mercedes AMG race cars of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg were in hot pursuit. Just 0.016 seconds off the pace of the Ferrari in the first practice, British driver Hamilton posted a 1-minute, 16.118-second to dominate Friday warm-ups. Ahead of Saturday qualifying, Hamilton bettered his own time by more than half a second in a morning session.

Lewis Hamilton parlayed his speed in practice into strong performance in Q1 and Q2 time trial sessions on Saturday. Fellow Mercedes AMG pilot Nico Rosberg kept up appearances during the first two stages of qualifying being third fastest in Q1 and second-quickest in Q2. Mercedes-Benz teams also presented some encouraging performance during Canadian Grand Prix qualifying. Kevin Magnussen posted a second-fastest time in Q1, the rookie driver wound-up 12th on the grid after a less impressive Q2 run. Magnussen's teammate and 2011 Canadian Grand Prix winner Jenson Button will start ninth in his McLaren-Mercedes. The second Mercedes-Benz customer time to showing strength on Saturday was Williams Martini Racing. Valtteri Bottas and his more experienced teammate Felipe Massa posted some strong times throughout qualifying. After Q3, Bottas is starting fourth while Massa is placed in a solid fifth place position. Last year in Canadian Grand Prix time trials, then-rookie driver Valtteri Bottas qualified third but fell quickly over the course of the grand prix. With a year of Formula 1 driving under his belt and a Williams car that his appeared better than the 2013 version, could put together a better run.

When qualifying wrapped, the factory Mercedes AMG team enjoyed the victors. However, despite holding the advantage in the conclusion of the first two qualifying sessions, Lewis Hamilton would be bested by his German teammate. Posting a 1-minute, 14.874-second lap time in Q3, Nico Rosberg captured pole. While Hamilton attempted to take the pole position in the late portion of the final time trial session, his Mercedes AMG race car was 0.079 seconds off the mark. Holding a slim four point advantage over teammate Lewis Hamilton heading into the Canadian Grand Prix, Nico Rosberg have conceivably declared full-scale war against the 2014 Formula 1 field that includes, most provocatively, his fellow Mercedes AMG driver. 

Photo Credit: Mercedes AMG

Taking third place in qualifying on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, the Red Bull-Renault of Sebastian Vettel broke a dominating session among Mercedes-Benz propelled cars. Over half a second off the pace of second-place Lewis Hamilton, Vettel is still searching for his first victory in the 2014 Formula 1 season and arrives at the Canadian Grand Prix as the race's defending winner. The second Red Bull Racing car will start from sixth place on the grid for Sunday's main event.

The 70-lap Canadian Grand Prix is set to start at 2:00 PM Eastern time. The weather forecast calls for a sunny, warm race.



2014 Formula 1
Canadian Grand Prix
Qualifying Results

Pos #	Car #	Driver	Team	Engine
1	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes AMG	Mercedes-Benz
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes AMG	Mercedes-Benz
3	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull	Renault
4	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams F1	Renault
5	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	Mercedes-Benz
6	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	Renault
7	14	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	Ferrari
8	25	Jean-Eric Vergne	Scuderia Toro Rosso	Renault
9	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	Mercedes-Benz
10	7	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	Ferrari
11	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	Mercedes-Benz
12	22	Kevin Magnussen	McLaren	Mercedes-Benz
13	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	Mercedes-Benz
14	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus	Renault
15	26	Daniil Kvyat	Scuderia Toro Rosso	Renault
16	99	Adrian Sutil	Sauber	Ferrari
17	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus	Renault
18	4	Max Chilton	Marussia	Ferrari
19	17	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	Ferrari
20	10	Kamui Kobayashi	Caterham	Renault
21	9	Marcus Ericsson	Caterham	Renault
22	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber	Ferrari

Silver Arrows Striking Target: Is Mercedes AMG the New Top F1 Team?

Photo Credit: Mercedes AMG

Mercedes-Benz could be enjoying a moment of greatness in Formula 1 not experienced since grand prix greats like Juan Manuel Fangio and Sir Sterling Moss drove competition cars baring the three-pointed star.

Winner of two of the past three Formula 1 races, the PETRONAS sponsored Mercedes AMG team has presented a new challenge to the defending constructors' champion Red Bull Racing. In addition, Mercedes AMG race cars driven by 2013 drivers Nico Rosberg and former Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton have collectively taken six of the last seven pole positions. Since the Australian Grand Prix, Mercedes AMG is one of four teams who have scored points in every 2013 Formula 1 event. Mercedes AMG is working on establishing the much-needed front-running consistency needed to be a lead Formula 1 organization. It has been a result of four seasons of mid-pack struggles that the current factory Mercedes team has hit a lasting stride.

Born from the spirit of Mercedes-Benz's grand prix team that first raced in the 1930s, the Silver Arrows' participation in motorsports has long been a source of pride for the German company. Tainted by the fact the Nazi German government has funded pre-war racing efforts, Mercedes-Benz would return to grand prix racing as a part of the infant Formula 1 championship in 1954. The creation of the Mercedes-Benz W196 was piloted by German drivers Hermann Lang and Hans Herrmann but was most noted for being wheeled by two other competitors. Five-time Formula 1 World Champion Juan Manuel Fangio won two of his titles in seasons where he drove the W196 race car. Fangio won all but one of the Mercedes-Benz W196 wins during 1954 and 1955. Sterling Moss would have also found victory lane in the car at the 1955 British Grand Prix. The 1955 fatal disaster at the 24 Hours of Le Mans where 83 spectators died as a result of a collision involving a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR sports car would cause the German company to reconsider their motorsport efforts. Leaving Formula 1 after the 1955 season, Mercedes-Benz would return in the 1990s as an engine supplier for Sauber and successfully McLaren.

In the conclusion of the 2009 season, Mercedes-Benz was one again willing to be a full-fledged team in Formula 1. When Daimler-Benz bought up controlling interest in the Brawn GP team from Ross Brawn (who stayed on as a Team Principal). after the 2009 Formula 1 season, many observers of the sport would have expected the returning Silver Arrows to be an instant season-long contender. Reasoning that the large auto company will invest heavily into the team, the signing of seven-time Formula 1 World Drivers' Championship Michael Schumacher was seen as a major ingredient to motorsport success. In addition to young, talented but winless German driver Nico Rosberg, Schumacher and the 2010 Mercedes GP team would find out they're starting off as a new team.

Possessing the remnants of what was the 2009 Constructor's Championship winning Brawn GP team, Mercedes GP would go without a victory for 2010 and 2011 Formula 1 seasons. Fighting against several long running teams such as Ferrari and McLaren as well as a matured Red Bull Racing team, the history of Formula 1 racing has taught that some teams can be hot one season but go completely dormant the next. In 1997, the Williams F1 team took team championship honours while fielding the year's Formula 1 champion Jacques Villeneuve. The following season resulted in a winless, lackluster effort. In the case of Mercedes GP, 2010 was an awakening. 2011 was actually a worse season for Mercedes GP as the team scored fewer constructor points than the previous year.

In the 2010 and 2011 Formula 1 seasons, it was also becoming surreal to look at the driver performances. The grand prix legend Michael Schumacher was not the lead producer for Mercedes GP. Instead, it was Nico Rosberg who frequently outpaced and outscored Schumacher. Rosberg was the first Mercedes GP driver to step on the podium in 2010 while it took Schumacher the 2012 season's European Grand Prix in order to match that benchmark. By that time, Nico Rosberg headed the team the two most prized items for a mostly mid-marker Formula 1 effort. At the 2012 Chinese Grand Prix, Rosberg clinched the team's first pole on route to the first Mercedes-Benz factory Formula 1 victory since the 1955 Italian Grand Prix won by Juan Manuel Fangio. “This is a truly special and historic day. I am so delighted for Nico, he has deserved to take his first victory several times, and has now done so by driving a perfectly judged race from pole position. I am excited to see how he develops now he has that win under his belt." commented Mercedes' Formula 1 team principal Ross Brawn who recognized it also as Rosberg's first grand prix victory. Having described the start of a his 2010 season as "...a child looking forward to Christmas.", Schumacher's three seasons ended in 2012 with retirement from Formula 1. "Even under these difficult conditions, my final Formula One race was tremendous fun, and I would once again like to thank the team and all my fans for their support over the past years. I’ve enjoyed the time we’ve spent together very much indeed.", said Schumacher on his round race with the team in Brazil.

The 2013 season was constructed as the next frontier for the Formula 1 now known as Mercedes AMG. With Michael Schumacher officially retiring from the sport following 2012, the team replaced the driver role by scooping up Lewis Hamilton as a teammate to Nico Rosberg. On the presentation of the new F1 W04 race car at Jerez, Hamilton commented, "It´s a very special day for me to officially present our Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrow to the world. There is no company with a longer history in Grand Prix racing than Mercedes-Benz and it is an honour for me to tread in the footsteps of legends like Juan Manuel Fangio, Sir Stirling Moss and Michael Schumacher." Hiring the former McLaren driver, it was intended that Hamilton would be the important balance of youth and championship-capable experience needed to be a serious contender.

After eight races, the duo of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg has given the Mercedes AMG team a higher amount of constructor points in 2013 than in the whole 2012 season. Two wins by Nico Rosberg including last week's British Grand Prix at Silverstone is helping to fortify the driver and team as a meaningful force in Formula 1. With three poles and a trio of podium finishes, Hamilton's presence in the team has been a positive one. It not for a tire problem in the British Grand Prix, the second Mercedes AMG victory of the 2013 season may have been his.

As the Silver Arrows are flying with race winning precision, the Mercedes AMG organization is not spending too much time basking in their success. Second in the 2013 Constructors' Championship, they are closely followed by the Scuderia Ferrari team. Going race-to-race, the entire team is focused on the German Grand Prix hoping to put together an effort granting Mercedes-Benz factory team their first such victory since 1954.