Get to know the Mercedes F1 team featuring all-time great Lewis Hamilton and inimitable CEO Toto Wolff, which enters the 2022 campaign as the reigning Constructor’s Champion.
Mercedes-AMG Petronas is the undisputed king of this current era of Formula 1. With eight straight Constructors’ Championships, it’s emerged as the gold standard of the sport’s current era through a winning combination of brute force and clinical efficiency. Those efforts have been led by all-time great Lewis Hamilton.
The celebrated Brit won four consecutive drivers’ titles and six in the previous seven years before losing out on last year’s title to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in the most controversial of ways. After regulations were misapplied during the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi, eventually leading to the firing of F1 race director Michael Masi, Verstappen bested Hamilton in a last-lap mad dash to the finish line.
After five years with the same two-man driver lineup of Hamilton and Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas, 24-year-old British racer George Russell joins the team from Williams and Mercedes’ young driver program. As the engines rev to kick off the 2022 campaign, let’s get to know the Mercedes F1 team.
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History of Mercedes in Formula 1
Founded: 1954
Previously known as: Daimler-Benz AG, Brawn GP
Headquarters: Brackley, UK and Brixworth, UK
Owners: Mercedes-Benz, Ineos, Toto Wolff
Key sponsors: Petronas, INEOS, UBS, TeamViewer, CrowdStrike, FTX, Akkodis, Hewlett Packard, IWC, Schaffhausen, The Ritz-Carlton, AMD, Monster Energy, Pure Storage, Tommy Hilfiger, TIBCO
Before World War II, Mercedes-Benz was known in Grand Prix racing circles as Silberpfeil (“The Silver Arrows”) due to the distinctive design and color scheme of their race cars. Mercedes joined Formula 1 in 1954, poaching world champion driver Juan Manuel Fangio from Maserati, who’d go on to win consecutive F1 titles for the team.
The Mercedes racing team withdrew from the scene following a fatal accident at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1955, but returned in 2010 when Daimler AG purchased a stake in constructor Brawn GP, which soon rebranded as Mercedes GP Petronas Formula 1 Team and subsequently Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team in 2012. Later that year, Hamilton left McLaren to join Mercedes, with Toto Wolff joining as Executive Director in 2013.
The following year, Hamilton delivered Mercedes its first Driver’s Championship since 1955 and its first-ever Constructor’s Championship.
2022 Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Drivers
Lewis Hamilton
- No. 44 car
- Seven-time world champion (six with Mercedes)
- Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2020
Who’s the Formula 1 GOAT? If your answer is someone other than either Michael Schumacher or Hamilton, you may need to undergo a CT scan.
Sir Lewis and Schumi are tied atop the all-time standings with seven Driver’s Championships each, but Hamilton stands alone at No. 1 in wins, podiums, and pole positions.
George Russell
- No. 63 car
- Finished 15th in 2021 champioship standings
- Made F1 debut at 2019 Australian Grand Prix
He may have just turned 24 in February, but George Russell is on the ascent. He arrives to take the place of Valtteri Bottas, who raced alongside Hamilton for the previous five years before departing for Alfa Romeo.
With 60 starts to his name entering the 2022 campaign, Russell remains in search of his first win, but broke through to earn his first podium last year at the Belgian Grand Prix.
Mercedes’ F1 Championships & Milestones
Numbers reflect results through 2021 Formula 1 season.
Constructor’s Championships: 8 (2014, ’15, ’16, ’17, ’18, ’19, ’20, ’21)
Driver’s Championships: 9 (1954, ’55, ’14, ’15, ’16, ’17, ’18, ’19, ’20)
All-time Formula 1 wins: 124
F1 podiums: 264
F1 poles: 124
F1 fastest laps: 94
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