Lewis claims an historic 100^th F1 career victory for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team in a pulsating Russian Grand Prix

• A hard-fought victory in Russia saw Lewis extend his F1 victory record to achieve the momentous milestone of 100 career victories in the highest echelon of motorsport.
• Lewis had dropped three places on the opening lap, keeping his nose clean to navigate a very bunched field before settling into the race and preserving his tyres for an extended stint on the Medium, eventually moving up to fourth.
• Lewis gained places after the first round of pit-stops and worked his way to a two-way battle for the lead with NOR. With rain forecast to arrive for the final few laps, Lewis found it difficult to pass the fellow Brit in the dry.
• When the rain finally arrived, the team pitted Valtteri for an early switch to the Intermediate tyres. Lewis joined him soon after, in contrast to NOR who stayed out and struggled badly in the worsening conditions.
• Valtteri took full advantage of the late rain and his early switch to Inters saw him make a number of solid passes to bring the W12 home in P5, securing vital points as the team extended its lead in the Constructors’ Championship.
• Lewis, meanwhile, safely guided the W12 home in increasingly heavy rain to take the chequered flag in P1.
• Today marks Lewis’s 79^th victory with the Mercedes works team, extending its100% win record in Russia which began with victories for Mercedes in 1913 and 1914.
• In claiming 25 points today, Lewis surpassed 4000 points in F1, the first driver to reach that milestone.
• Lewis Hamilton (246.5 points) leads the Drivers’ Championship from Max Verstappen (244.5), while Valtteri is in third position (151 points).
• The Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team (397.5 points) lead Red Bull (364.5 points) by 33 points in the Constructors’ Championship.

2021 Russian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton

Wow… 100! It’s taken a long time and I wasn’t even sure the 100th would come! Going to bed last night I wasn’t the happiest with the job I did yesterday. I watched the replay over and over again; they were subtle mistakes but I was so determined to put things right when I woke up this morning.

Today was tough – I lost a lot of ground at the start, just trying to stay out of trouble. I was patient and at the end, when the rain came, I didn’t want to let Lando go by boxing. Of course I didn’t know what the rain was doing, it was just my feeling but I’m incredibly grateful to the strategy team for the job they did today. Getting anywhere near 100 victories wouldn’t be possible without the hard work of the men and women here and back at the factory, I’m so grateful to them – it just feels so special.

Lando did an amazing job today, he had incredible pace and he’s doing such a great job for McLaren. It was bittersweet to see my old team ahead, they’re doing so well powered by Mercedes and it’s good to see them united again. Max did a good job to come up from second to last, the battle continues and we know we need to be on top form over the remaining races.

2021 Russian Grand Prix

Valtteri Bottas

Firstly, congrats to Lewis on the win and his 100th victory. From my side, it was a difficult race and not an easy day, but the situation at the end with the rain saved it for me. Before that, I was struggling to progress through the field. It was much more difficult than I thought it would be, because I just couldn’t follow through the corners – I was getting big understeer. I couldn’t carry the speed and get close enough to overtake, and other cars were finding it easier to follow closely. Then the rain arrived, I wanted to stop one lap earlier but the team wasn’t quite ready, but we were still one of the first cars to stop, which was good. I managed to climb up the order and score some good points, which is positive after a tricky day.

Toto Wolff

Those final few laps were so intense, but we managed to make the right calls and lead the field across the finish line. A big congratulations to Lewis on his 100th win. What we are witnessing is just mind-blowing. It’ll be talked about for the next few days, but it’ll only be years down the line when we realise that we’ve all been part of this journey. A journey no other driver in F1 history has done so far. That’s beyond race wins and championship victories, that is the very human part of all this.

In terms of the race, I think it would have been difficult to get past Norris in the dry, as Lewis struggled to overtake Ricciardo even with DRS. Norris managed the race very well, who knows what would have happened if the rain hadn’t arrived, but it did. This kind of decision is hugely difficult, it started to drizzle on half of the circuit, but we made the call and it paid off. We’d made the call a little bit earlier with Valtteri, and that brought him into contention after a challenging race and he did a great job to move up the field and into the top five. A big well done to the entire team for all their work and efforts, it’s been a little while since we had a race victory but I know results like this will fire everyone up even more to keep pushing until the end of the season.

2021 Russian Grand Prix

Andrew Shovlin

Congratulations to Lewis on his 100th win, it’s an incredible achievement and hopefully he can find time over the next few days to enjoy it. Obviously the end of the race was quite exciting, the team stayed calm and reacted well to the conditions and ultimately that’s what gave us the win. Prior to the rain it was quite a tough race, Lewis lost places at the start after getting boxed in at turn 2 and Valtteri had a good start but struggled to make progress through the traffic, especially when stuck in a DRS train. We’d managed to get Lewis up to second and it would have been a straight fight with Lando in the dry but we were actually hoping for the rain as it felt like that would be our best chance of making it to the top step. Valtteri was further back at the time it started so we decided to switch to intermediates early and that paid off, gaining some good points in the process. Overall, a solid team performance and it’s put us back in front in both championships so we’re happy with that but Max covered very well today from a PU penalty, finishing just one place behind, so we know we need to be at our very best in the coming races to have a chance of bringing the Championships home.

Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport claim 25 points in a thrilling race in Austin

• Lewis came home in P3, racing to the 15th podium at a US Grand Prix for Mercedes-Benz Power
• Valtteri finished today’s race in P5, securing ten points for the Constructors’ Championship
• Lewis (346 points) leads the Drivers’ Championship by 70 points from Sebastian Vettel (276 points) with Valtteri (217 points) in P4 and with 75 points left to be scored in the season
• Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport (563 points) lead Ferrari (497 points) by 66 points in the Constructors’ Championship with 129 points remaining to be scored in the 2018 season

Lewis Hamilton

It was actually a really fun race, to be close with Kimi and have a bit of a battle with him and Max. It was quite cool that it was Ferrari, Red Bull and us battling for positions and it must have been exciting to watch. Naturally, I’m a bit disappointed in our performance, to have started first but finished third, but I’m still grateful that I managed to finish up ahead of Seb. When you don’t have Friday practice you don’t get to work on the set-up and get the optimum out of the car. Everyone was in the same boat, but I think ultimately Ferrari came closer to us with the changes they made. In the race, we were lacking pace on the straights, but I gave it everything. I was still pushing like crazy and that’s what racing is all about. I had one little chance at the end, but I had to give Max a lot of space because it’s better to finish third than get taken out by someone who’s not fighting for the championship, so I didn’t want to take that risk. We were going for the win today, but it wasn’t meant to be. We’re going to Mexico next; it’s such a beautiful place, but I haven’t always had the best results there, so I definitely want to win that race.Valtteri Bottas

We knew going into the race that it was going to be a difficult afternoon. The Ferrari looked very quick yesterday and there were a lot of question marks because of the limited running in the dry, so making predictions on the set-up and the tyres was very tricky. We didn’t quite have the pace that we were hoping for, especially on the Soft tyres. We had planned for a one-stop race and that’s what we did, but in hindsight the second stint was just a little bit too long. My tyres started to go three or four laps before the Sebastian overtook me and they were just completely gone in the end, that’s why he managed to build such a big gap in only a few laps. But we couldn’t work the two-stop work with Lewis either, so overall we were just lacking pace today. We will now do our usual work of analysing and understanding why we weren’t quicker today, so we can come back stronger and hopefully win in Mexico. There’s only three more races left in the season and the fight is far from over, so we will give it everything to get the best results possible.

Toto Wolff

First of all, congratulations to Kimi on his win today – it has been a long time since we saw him on the top step and it was great for Formula One to have him up there. This was a day of fantastic racing, and a great show for the American fans with lots of wheel-to-wheel battles, but it wasn’t a good day for us at Mercedes. All week, we have heard people talking us up, talking Ferrari down and talking as if this season is a foregone conclusion; but that narrative doesn’t fit the reality of Formula One. We have been wary and respectful of Ferrari at every race this year and we knew they would come here to fight back hard – and so they did. It wasn’t a surprise against competitors of such strength. On our side, the story of the race wasn’t really one of strategy; we didn’t have the balance of speed and tyre management that we would have needed to win this afternoon. When we were running second with Lewis and the VSC came out, we took the opportunity to off-set ourselves in order to go for the win – because it was going to be very tough to win by mirroring Kimi ahead. This looked pretty good for a while but we knew it would mean coming back through other cars in the final laps – and it didn’t work out. He managed to close the gap but we gave him too big a mountain to climb, and the tyres no longer had the pace advantage he needed to pass in the final laps, in spite of giving it a pretty spectacular go against Max. For Valtteri, though, we tried a one-stop strategy like the top two – and couldn’t make the tyres last either. So we need to learn the lessons from today, take strength from the pain of having been out-performed here and move on to Mexico determined to get closer to our potential in terms of the race performance. Nothing can, and nothing will, be taken for granted by any single member of the team.

James Allison

That wasn’t the race we were hoping for, but I guess we always knew that we might face a tricky time at the start with Kimi on the softer compound and with a strong run up the hill as a result. However, we did think that we would have the pace one way or another to impose ourselves on the race. It didn’t work out that way. The absolute pace of the car remained strong, but we consumed our tyres quicker than the others and that left us with a weak hand to play over the distance of the race. You could see that both in the two-stop that Lewis did, aided by a Virtual Safety Car, and in the one-stop that we chose for Valtteri; both drivers started brightly enough in their stints but their challenge faded as the tyres went off. We normally get the car in a happier place than this, but with Friday being washed out we were blind to the problems we experienced today. They were cruelly exposed today and they led to the disappointing outcome. We look forward to Mexico next weekend, and we are determined to put on a better performance than we managed today.

Formel 1 – Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, Großer Preis der USA 2018. Lewis Hamilton
Formula One – Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, United States GP 2018. Lewis Hamilton

Formel 1 – Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, Großer Preis der USA 2018. Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas
Formula One – Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, United States GP 2018. Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas

Formel 1 – Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, Großer Preis der USA 2018. Valtteri Bottas
Formula One – Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, United States GP 2018. Valtteri Bottas

Formel 1 – Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, Großer Preis der USA 2018. Lewis Hamilton
Formula One – Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, United States GP 2018. Lewis Hamilton

Formel 1 – Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, Großer Preis der USA 2018. Lewis Hamilton
Formula One – Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, United States GP 2018. Lewis Hamilton

Formel 1 – Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, Großer Preis der USA 2018. Lewis Hamilton
Formula One – Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, United States GP 2018. Lewis Hamilton

Formel 1 – Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, Großer Preis der USA 2018. Lewis Hamilton
Formula One – Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, United States GP 2018. Lewis Hamilton

Formel 1 – Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, Großer Preis der USA 2018. Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas
Formula One – Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, United States GP 2018. Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas

Formel 1 – Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, Großer Preis der USA 2018. Lewis Hamilton
Formula One – Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, United States GP 2018. Lewis Hamilton

Formel 1 – Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, Großer Preis der USA 2018. Lewis Hamilton
Formula One – Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, United States GP 2018. Lewis Hamilton

Formel 1 – Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, Großer Preis der USA 2018. Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas
Formula One – Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, United States GP 2018. Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas

Formel 1 – Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, Großer Preis der USA 2018. Valtteri Bottas
Formula One – Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, United States GP 2018. Valtteri Bottas

Formel 1 – Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, Großer Preis der USA 2018. Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas
Formula One – Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, United States GP 2018. Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas

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Nico took his third win of the 2015 season and the 11th of his Formula One career to date at the 2015 Austrian Grand Prix.  Teammate Lewis Hamilton completed a Silver Arrows 1-2 for the second consecutive time this season in Spielberg with a P2 finish.  Felipe Massa and Williams made it an all Mercedes-Benz powered podium in P3.  Hamilton is now leading Nico by 10 points in the Driver’s Championship, with MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS heading Ferrari by 136 in the Constructor’s standings.

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Nico Rosberg Wins Austrian Grand Prix

Nico Rosberg

Wow, what a day! It feels so great to win again in Austria. It’s such a special track – very tricky and with a fantastic crowd. After my mistake yesterday in qualifying I was determined to push really hard to win this race. I had a good start and went into turn one in the lead, which was very important as I knew from past races this year that it’s very difficult to overtake the same car on track. After I passed Lewis I was able to control the lead quite comfortably. Towards the end I felt some vibrations on the right front tyre but I was able to manage it to the flag. Big thanks to the team for a great car and a perfect race. Now I’m really looking forward to Silverstone, where I have good memories with the pole last year and the win in 2013.

Lewis Hamilton

It was a pretty straightforward race. I didn’t have the best start. I had a problem with the revs in that, when I came off the throttle, the revs stayed up. So, when I dropped the clutch, I had too much wheel spin and lost ground. That’s something we’ll look at after the race. Then, I was keeping up with Nico in the first stint – but in the second phase he just had better pace. At the end it was just about bringing it home – but Nico deserved the win so congratulations to him.

Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport

I’m very happy with the result today, especially at my and Niki’s home circuit here in Spielberg. It’s even more special because we have three Mercedes engines in the top three for the second year in a row; it couldn’t be better. Nico drove a brilliant and dominant race today – he got a great start, had the upper hand on pace and made no mistakes at all. Both boys were right on the limit, as you could see when Nico came into the pit lane sideways for his pit stop! As for Lewis, his race boiled down to the start and the pit stop; he lost out off the line, which we will need to analyse, then looked to have a snap oversteer as he left the pit lane and put two wheels over the line. From there, he just brought the car home and managed the gap to Felipe behind. Like in 2014, we are seeing the advantage swing from driver to driver across the races, and I’m sure they’ll be battling all the way to the end of the season.

Paddy Lowe, Executive Director (Technical)

A fantastic result to achieve another 1-2 and particularly so at a home race for Toto and Niki. The start was not ideal for Lewis, so he lost the benefit of pole position. There was no particular issue – Nico just managed to get away slightly better and there was actually not much in it away from the line. After the very early safety car, it then became clear that Nico had a slight pace advantage over Lewis – but more importantly that our car was showing a bigger advantage than we had anticipated over Ferrari. It therefore became more of a battle between our two drivers up until the first round of stops. Lewis, of course, was then handed a time penalty for a very small error. The number of errors that either he or Nico make is very small indeed and I think this highlighted that rarity rather than presenting any cause for concern. From there, it became clear to Lewis that the race win was out of reach barring any dramas, which gave us the luxury of managing the cars home for a great 1-2 finish.

Mercedes-AMG have ended months of speculation by confirming that Formula 1’s leading man has committed to the team until the end of 2018.

Yep, Lewis Hamilton’s new three-year deal with the Silver Arrows will make him the best paid driver in the sport, earning more than twice the sum teammate Nico Rosberg makes under an agreement signed in July 2014.

Hamilton said: “The Mercedes car I am driving right now is the best I have ever had in my career; it’s just so much fun to be out there every weekend, on the limit and fighting to win at every track.”

The Englishman also said he was “very proud” to sign a contract that will see him mark 20 years with the German team, who have been involved in his career in some capacity since 1998.

Lewis is already the richest sportsman in the UK with a personal fortune of £88m, topping fellow driver Jenson Button (£71m) and footballist Wayne Rooney (£72m) in the 2015 Sunday Times Sport Rich List.

The £100m figure is even more remarkable considering that Hamilton took on most of the negotiations himself, having parted from representatives XIX Entertainment late last year.

And as the Mercs continue to dominate, the Stevenage-born driver has a great opportunity to add multiple titles to the world championships he won in 2008 and 2014.

Lewis Hamilton

Via: Top Gear

This A 45 AMG was specially designed for Lewis Hamilton. The matte black paint finish gives the car an aggressive look, perfect to impress the competitors at the Monza Rally 2014, where Hamilton was one of the many celebrities in attendance.

Combined fuel consumption: 7.1-6.9 l/100km | CO2 emission: 161 g/km*

Mercedes-Benz announced a spectacular collision of peerless talents from the worlds of fashion, photography and Formula 1 for its Autumn/Winter 2015 fashion campaign.

Champions of Fashion – International Mercedes-Benz fashion campaign – Autumn/Winter 2015.

The leading men are the ace racers, rivals and team-mates Lewis Hamilton – Formula 1’s newly-crowned World Champion – and Nico Rosberg. Starring alongside them is one of the fashion circuit’s hottest models and actress, Dree Hemingway – who as great-granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway, is herself a scion of adventure in the grand tradition. This new season paean to the siren calls of speed, sleekness and style has been masterminded by Collier Schorr, the Yale faculty member, and photographer nonpareil.

To shoot the campaign the trio was transported to the Sindelfingen wind-tunnel, a canonic site in the mythology of Mercedes-Benz, where its designs are tested against the uncompromising forces of nature. Aerodynamic efficiency meets exquisite aesthetics in the two motoring masterpieces – one classic, one brand-new – that the drivers are issued; Rosberg steers the brawny, muscular Mercedes-AMG GT while Hamilton takes the Mercedes-Benz C111, a still-revered gullwing experimental model developed during the 1970’s. High fashion – not to mention tailoring as perfectly precise as the Mercedes-Benz team-mates’s driving – screeches seductively into the pit lane courtesy of HUGO BOSS, outfitter of choice to Hamilton, Rosberg and Hemingway.

Produced to celebrate Mercedes-Benz’s longstanding sponsorship of the world’s finest fashion weeks – a blossoming roster that now numbers over 50 engagements in more than 30 countries. Collier Schorr for Autumn Winter 2015 is the sixteenth Mercedes-Benz fashion campaign, a tradition established to underline the commitment to the many international fashion events – including the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Weeks in Beijing, Moscow and Berlin as well as the fashion weeks in London, Milan, Paris and many others – that Mercedes-Benz is proud to support. Previous collaborators have included Nick Knight, Roe Ethridge, Mario Testino, Ryan McGinley, Peter Lindbergh, Tilda Swinton, Lara Stone, Karlie Kloss and Joan Smalls. This, though, is a champagne moment: the first time that Formula 1 drivers have taken their place on the Mercedes-Benz fashion podium.

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg are drivers for the UK-based Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team. The team won 13 of the first 16 races of the 2014 F1 season, then accelerated away to take the Constructors Championship – with Hamilton and Rosberg pitted against eachother all the way in the battle to be crowned Champion driver.

The protagonists

Mercedes-AMG GT

The descriptive key words for the Mercedes-AMG GT are: Dynamic. Handcrafted. Passionate. It stands for the aim to reach pure perfection, to challenge and to win. The new GT combines driving dynamics, formidable agility and first-class racetrack performance with superb everyday practicability. The entire production process has a handcrafted character: “One Man – One Engine”. It has been passionately manufactured by Sportscar enthusiasts for Sportscar enthusiasts. Born on the racetrack. Raised on the Street. Pure Performance expresses the look of the Mercedes-AMG GT classic campaign focusing on positioning the car as a brand shaper to underline the sportiness of Mercedes-AMG. The central statement of the classic communication is “Handcrafted by Racers.”

Dream car of the seventies: Mercedes-Benz C 111

In September 1969 Mercedes-Benz amazed the public at the International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt with the presentation of the C 111 experimental vehicle. The Mercedes-Benz brand was somewhat conservative back then, with its restrained, elegantly styled cars, and no-one would have expected it to come up with such a bold and expressive design. As such the C 111 contributed towards the rejuvenation and enlivening of the brand’s style. The body made of glass-fibre-reinforced plastic (GFRP) with gullwing doors and striking orange-coloured paintwork was just one of its highlights. On the inside it pampered passengers with a tastefully designed, comfortable ambience. It was therefore more akin to a Gran Turismo than to a spartan super sports car. As a near-series experimental and research vehicle, it demonstrated the development expertise and innovative potential of Mercedes-Benz. The C111 had its appearance in the fashion world in the 1970’s.

Dree Hemingway, model and actress

During her highly successful modelling career Dree Hemingway has shone on the runways for Givenchy, Chanel and Lanvin (among many others), appeared regularly in editorial and on the covers of international editions of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. Dree works with many of the world’s leading photographers including Bruce Weber, Peter Lindbergh, Ines Van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin, Glen Luchford & Alasdair McLellan and has appeared in prestigious fashion campaigns for Valentino, David Yurman, Paco Rabanne & Jean-Paul Gaultier, to name a few. Most recently Dree has taken on a new creative role, as she was appointed Women’s Global Ambassador for the American fashion & luxury brand Cole Haan in 2014. As an actress Dree received accolades and critical praise for her first breakout performance and lead role in Sean Bakers 2012 Film Starlet. This was followed up by subsequent roles including appearing in the French film Nous York in 2012. Dree ‘s latest films roles include While We’re Young with Ben Stiller by acclaimed directed and oscar nominated Writer Noah Baumbach and Alex Perry’s Listen Up Philip, due for general release in 2015.

Lewis Hamilton, F1 driver

Lewis Hamilton’s first car was radio-controlled, and he began racing it aged six. A year later he appeared on the British television programme Blue Peter and effortlessly won against far more seasoned competition. A prodigiously gifted racing driver, Hamilton progressed via go-karting – he won the 2000 European championship, racing alongside teammate Nico Rosberg – through to the discipline’s pinnacle: Formula One. Racing for Mclaren with Mercedes-Benz power, Hamilton won the F1 title in 2008; in 2014, with MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS, he has become only the fourth British driver to win two F1 world titles. Unquestionably amongst the most exciting and charismatic drivers in the history of motorsport, Hamilton is a legend in the making.

Nico Rosberg, F1 driver

German Nico Rosberg has racing in his blood: his Finnish father, Keke, won the 1982 F1 World Championship. Rosberg rose through the ranks of karting and junior racing before winning the GP2 Series in 2005, which earned him the change to progress to Formula1. He won his first Grand Prix for Mercedes in China in 2012, adding the prestigious Monaco and British Grands Prix in 2013. During 2014, he was locked in a relentless and compelling duel for world championship title with his team-mate and rival, Lewis Hamilton. Rosberg scored six wins and eleven pole positions on his way to a gracious second place in the championship.

Collier Schorr, photographer and film director

The senior photography critic and faculty member at the Yale University School of Art, Collier Schorr has spent three decades navigating the nuances of gender through her startling and thoughtful photographic practice. Her portfolios have covered subjects as diverse as wrestling, masculinity in the military and her latest book 8 Women — while her fashion photography has graced the covers of titles including The New York Times Style magazine, ID, Another Magazine, Self Service, and Fantastic Man. She is represented by the prestigious 303 Gallery in New York. Her work is held in public collections including MOMA, the Whitney, and the Walker Art Center. She has undertaken commercial commissions for fashion houses including Bottega Veneta, Jil Sander, Brioni, and Y-3. She lives and works in New York City.

Mercedes-Benz is celebrating its triumph in the Formula 1 World Championship with two exquisite special models of the SL 63 AMG – co-created by Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. Lewis Hamilton, who became the Formula 1 champion for the 2014 season after a series of memorable duels, proposed black as his base colour. Nico Rosberg, his fiercest rival in this season’s races, chose white as his colour theme. Mercedes-Benz is only producing 19 of each model. And each model in the “World Championship 2014 Collector’s Edition” is effectively one-of-a-kind: for each individual vehicle is dedicated to one of the 19 Formula 1 race tracks used this year and is unmistakeably identifiable as such through some of its equipment and appointment details.

World champion and serial winner: the two Mercedes Formula 1 drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg were first through the chequered flag in 16 out of the 19 Formula 1 races this year, delivering up some thrilling duels in motorsport’s elite discipline at the same time, sometimes literally wheel-to-wheel. The prize for this outstanding performance: first and second place in the drivers’ championship and undisputed champion of the constructors’ championship. To mark these achievements, Mercedes-Benz has dedicated a unique Collector’s Edition to each of its two world-beating drivers. The sporting competitiveness on the tarmac which propelled them both to their superlative performances can also be seen in the two very different designs.

Athletic and challenging – black

Formula 1 champion Hamilton demonstrated his penchant for glamour and the exceptional with a black SL – athletically challenging. This vehicle comes in the special paint finish designo night black magno which can be found on such detachable body parts as the exterior mirrors, door handles and rims as well. Gold-coloured lettering, fins and stripes on the rear bumper impart a feeling of power. The tailpipe trim is in chromed black.

Black and gold dominate the interior, too: gold-coloured stitching adorns the seats in black nappa leather, the instrument panel and centre console are also covered in black designo Exclusive nappa leather, with the trim parts gleaming in gold.

Elegant and stylish – white

Rosberg’s SL provides an elegant contrast. With the main body finished in designo cashmere white magno, the detachable body parts such as the door handles, wheels, lettering, fins, the insert in the front bumper, surround for the daytime running lamps, window trim and the spoiler lip in the boot lid provide a finely-judged contrast in designo himalayas grey. Both Formula 1 drivers were in agreement when it came to the tailpipe trim: it is in chromed black for the white car, too.
designo Exclusive Style leather in titanium grey sets the tone for the interior in the Nico Rosberg model. It adorns the seats, which have basalt grey topstitching, the steering wheel, the door beltlines, the soft-top cover and also the upper part of the instrument panel. The lower part of the instrument panel is finished in deep white nappa leather, as are the centre console and the door panels. The trim parts gleam in designo cashmere white magno.

The ultimate specification

The AMG 5.5-litre V8 biturbo engine in both Mercedes-AMG SL 63 special models has an output of 430 kW (585 hp) and torque of 900 newton metres, giving them breathtaking thrust. The top speed limit of both has been raised to a championship level of 300 km/h, making them true high-performance roadsters. Both the Lewis Hamilton and the Nico Rosberg model have the same top-flight specification. It includes the AMG Driver’s package, numerous assistance systems, AMG sports suspension, AIRSCARF, the Bang & Olufsen BeoSound AMG sound system, a panoramic vario-roof with MAGIC SKY CONTROL, as well as AMG sports seats and much, much more.
The World Championship 2014 Collector’s Edition thus offers the legend amongst sports cars that is the SL in two top-class versions. They reflect both the sporting rivalry and the goal shared between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

Each vehicle is a one-off

Every vehicle in the “World Championship 2014 Collector’s Edition” is a unique car, in the truest sense of the phrase, that will make it an absolute “must-have” for many a collector. For each vehicle in this Edition is in fact a one-off. Only 19 black and 19 white models are being produced – standing for each of the 19 Formula 1 race tracks that featured in the 2014 season. An illustration of the race track in question is hand-embroidered into the vehicle’s floor mats and engraved on a badge in the centre console as well as on the vehicle’s key.

Mercedes-Benz is offering the 19 black and white models of the “World Championship 2014 Collector’s Edition” exclusively to the members of the Mercedes-Benz Circle of Excellence. In keeping with the team spirit, these exclusive edition vehicles will at first only be offered in pairs, and subsequently also as individual units. Purchasers will also receive a helmet worn by Lewis Hamilton or Nico Rosberg. Further attractive extras include a Nico Rosberg or Lewis Hamilton Edition IWC Ingenieur chronograph watch, an F1 book signed by both drivers and an invitation to the opening race of the 2015 season, in Melbourne. The vehicles will be handed over at the German Grand Prix 2015.

The price for the strictly limited-edition and unique pair of vehicles, both of which immortalise the exciting duels fought through this Championship, is €629,510. A single vehicle costs €320,110 (incl. VAT).

On his way to winning the Driver’s Championship, Lewis Hamilton stops in New York City to proclaim his love for the city talk about America’s intense love of sports and have a chat with the Today Show.

Lewis Hamilton won the 2014 Italian Grand Prix with Nico Rosberg second, achieving the team’s seventh 1-2 finish.

• Lewis took his sixth win of the season, driving a great race to recover from a slow start that saw him drop to P4
• Nico took the lead on lap one and held it before a mistake into turn one allowed Lewis to regain the lead on lap 29
• Both drivers ran the same strategy, starting on the medium tyres and pitting one lap apart on lap 24 (Nico) and lap 25 (Lewis) to change to the hard tyres and race to the end
• The 1-2 finish represents the seventh this season; only three seasons in Formula One history have seen seven or more 1-2 finishes from a team
• The team now have a lead of 182 points in the Constructors’ Championship (454 points in total) with both drivers 50 points or more ahead of third place in the Drivers’ Championship
• All of the top four and seven of the top ten today are powered by Mercedes-Benz Hybrid Power

2014 Formula 1

Lewis Hamilton

Firstly it was amazing to see the straight completely filled with fans from the podium today. You make this race and thank you so much for your support! Big congratulations to the team for our performance this weekend. We said we wanted a one-two and we got it today‎; this result is important for everyone.‎ It was a difficult race for me though. The launch sequence didn’t engage properly for the formation lap and then again for the start‎. I tried to pull away as fast as possible, basically I just floored it and hoped for the best! Fortunately I didn’t lose too many places‎ and was able to get past Kevin, then have a good battle with Felipe. When I closed up to Nico, I didn’t want to hold back as the car felt good and I knew from experience that the only chance would be at the start of the stint when the tyres were fresh so I went for it. ‎I’m really pleased with the win, it’s feels like I have some momentum back as we go into the final races‎.

Nico Rosberg

Lewis was quicker this weekend, so he deserved the win. That for sure is very disappointing for me. I had a lock up in Turn One and I decided to go straight to avoid a flat spotted tyre. That cost me the lead. But he was very quick behind me, so I had to push all the time. But I need to see the positive things from today. Second place is still good and I lost only seven points to Lewis, so this could have been much worse. It’s also a great result for the team, the first 1-2 since Austria. So I’m happy for everybody in our team and I have to thank everyone again for this great Silver Arrow. We were the strongest team at this unique circuit. The Tifosi created a great atmosphere for us on the podium; it was all red all the way down the straight. That was great to see. Now I look forward to Singapore, I like the track and I have great memories from last year.

Toto Wolff

Lewis had fantastic pace this weekend and his qualifying lap laid the basis for his win. He was in a league of his own this afternoon in terms of speed but it wasn’t an easy race for him after the problems at the start. But he stayed calm, took his opportunities and delivered the goods. Nico also drove a strong race and took a good second place. It’s fantastic to take our seventh one-two of the season, we have been waiting a while for this one. Well done to everybody at Brackley for a job well done – and I’d like to give a special mention to the boys and girls at Brixworth; it’s pretty special when you see your Power Unit take a one-two-three-four finish at Monza!

Paddy Lowe

It was fantastic to score another one-two finish again. There was a lot of expectation because of the long gap since we last did it in Austria, even though the car has had the potential to do so. It wasn’t an easy race, though. The first stress point came when we had to change Lewis’ front wing after it sustained slight damage on the grid. Then at the race start, Lewis’ systems for the start would not engage the correct mode, which meant he had the wrong engine settings and lost three positions off the line. He did a great job to recover, and pulled off a very classy pass on Massa into the first chicane. He had the better pace overall today and closed in on Nico, until Nico’s mistake in Turn One. We had briefed both drivers to take the long route if they made a mistake under braking, rather than locking up and trying to make the corner. This was because a flat spot could have severely compromised the one-stop strategy, so Nico did absolutely the right thing – but it also cost him the lead. Overall, a great team result; congratulations to everybody back at base who worked so hard to make it happen and to both drivers for two very strong performances after our difficult race in Spa.

In case you manage to avoid any sports news since Sunday, you likely haven’t heard about the F1 feud that has erupted between Nico Rosberg and Mercedes AMG Petronas teammate Lewis Hamilton after the Belgian Grand Prix.  If that’s the case, here is a quick recap – During the second lap at Spa-Francorchamps, Rosberg collided with Hamilton while trying to pass his teammate who had the line.  Rosberg’s right front wing endplate nailed the left rear corner of Hamilton’s car and caused a tire puncture.  Hamilton managed his way back to the pits but the damage was done and Hamilton eventualy retired.

But with two number one drivers both vying to win the world championship, accidents like this are going to happen and it’s part of why we, the fans, watch the sport in the first place.  Given all that has gone down between Rosberg and Hamilton this year and what is at stake, one would expect nothing less from two of the best drivers in F1.  So now that the gloves are off, whether you’re team Rosberg or Team Hamilton, the upcoming race in Italy should prove to be exceptionally entertaining.

Press Release:

Nico Rosberg took second place in today’s Belgian Grand Prix, while Lewis Hamilton retired in the latter stages of a dramatic race at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.

Lewis pitted on the second lap after suffering a puncture. He then stopped again for fresh tyres on laps 17 and 31 before retiring the car on lap 33

Nico ran a three-stop strategy, including a nose change on lap eight. He pitted twice further on laps 19 and 34

The team has finished on the podium in every race of the 2014 season so far, with a total of 19 top three finishes to date

Nico Rosberg

That was a tough race. We had the pace to win today but the incident cost us a top result, so I’m really disappointed because for the team it was a bad day. As drivers, we are here to entertain and to show the fans a good time, so our duels are always on the limit. I regret that Lewis and myself touched, but I see it as a racing incident – just as the stewards did. I was quicker down the straight and went to the outside as the inside line was blocked. I gave it a go and, after we touched, I realized that my front wing was damaged and thought that was it. In the next second I saw that Lewis also had a problem, which was very unfortunate for him and for the team. We sat down quickly after the race but there will be some more meetings to be held in to avoid races like today.

Lewis Hamilton

I’m gutted with the result – not just for my own Championship hopes but for the team, as we really should have had a one-two today. It’s been a tough year for everyone and the whole team has been working so hard – every time we’ve been knocked down they’ve never given up. I didn’t fully understand what had happened until I saw the replay just now, but I gave him plenty of space, took the corner like I usually do and suddenly felt a big hit from behind. There was nothing I could do about it and that was effectively my race over. I wanted to retire the car early – not because I was giving up, but because I couldn’t catch the people in front of me and even with a safety car I don’t think I would have been able to pass them. The car was quite badly damaged and my thoughts were to preserve the engine after the last one was destroyed in Hungary. What happens next is not my call – that’s one for the bosses to make. But I’m now almost 30 points behind in the Championship so that’s the main thing on my mind. It’s a big gap and it will be hard to recover from here. That’s tough to swallow – but ultimately it’s just been one of those days.

Toto Wolff

Today we saw our worst case scenario when the drivers made contact on lap two – and that ultimately cost us a one-two finish today, because we saw that our car had that kind of performance in it. It has been our clear policy to let the drivers race this year but rule number one is: don’t hit each other. To see that kind of contact, so early in the race, is an unacceptable level of risk to be taking out on track. It cannot – and will not – happen again. After the collision, Nico drove the first stint with a significantly damaged front wing, changed it, then had to make an additional stop after flat-spotting his left front tyre to the point where it was dangerous. He then charged back through the field and was impressively close to taking the win in spite of a dramatic race. As for Lewis, he was fighting with one hand tied behind his back after the puncture, which damaged the floor and cost him a significant amount of performance. We left him out there in case the Safety Car came out, bunched up the field and allow us to gain some places, but it became clear that he had lost too much performance and was continuing to do so, so we retired the car before the finish. Overall, not a good day for the team – and it is clear that we need to strengthen our focus on securing the Constructors’ Championship by delivering the potential of both cars in the next races. Now we need to regroup and come back stronger in Monza.

Paddy Lowe

We got off to a strong start, with Lewis taking the lead and Nico eventually recovering second place from Sebastian. One lap later, however, the incident between the two at turn five effectively ruined our afternoon. It’s a great shame, as the car had looked strong all weekend and we were in an excellent position to potentially score a one-two finish. We opted to continue the race with Lewis in case of a safety car scenario, which may have given him an opportunity to recover the lost ground. But in the end this never came and, with his floor heavily damaged by tyre debris on the second lap, the condition of the car deteriorated further as the race continued. For Nico it was a case of damage limitation. Our calculations confirmed that we would have to change his nose to have any chance of a podium – but of course that cost time. As it was, although he was closing in rapidly at the end, a lockup and resultant flat spot on the second set of tyres ultimately cost him that opportunity. Overall, massive disappointment after all the hard work put in by the team to come away with a result not matching our potential this weekend.

Earlier this year, Lewis Hamilton, along with his 2012 Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One car, visited the Top Gear Festival in Barbados and went head-to-head with Ken Block in a Ford Fiesta RX43. Watch this awesome videos to see who came out victorious.

Race Highlights:

Full Race Overview:

Lewis Hamilton took victory in his home race at this afternoon’s British Grand Prix, while Nico Rosberg was forced to retire.

• Lewis scored the team’s eighth win in nine races in 2014 – and his fifth of the season so far
• This marked Lewis’ 27th Formula One victory, putting him level with Sir Jackie Stewart
• His win came 60 years and two days after the first Formula One victory for Mercedes-Benz at the 1954 French Grand Prix
• Nico retired his car with gearbox problems just after half distance on lap 29, having led from the start
• Lewis ran an option/prime/option tyre strategy, with Nico running option/option before his retirement
• The team now leads the Constructors’ Championship by 158 points after nine of this season’s 19 races

Lewis Hamilton 2014 British Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton

Winning in front of your home crowd is just the best feeling. We really do have the greatest fans here and thank you so much to everyone for your patience after yesterday. To see the support all around the track is just amazing. I said before that I’d never give up but it was a tough qualifying and I really needed to dig deep and come back positive this morning. A huge thank you to my family and all of the fans for pushing me on – I couldn’t have done it without them. Nico had a pretty big gap at the beginning of the race but I kept pushing and was happy with my pace. After extending my first stint, we switched to the prime tyres and I honestly couldn’t believe the pace that I had and was closing up to Nico. Of course, he then had a problem and I saw him pull over. It’s a shame for the team and I never want to see a team-mate fall behind – I always want to battle it out – but I’m sure we will get to do it again in the future. It’s been a rollercoaster weekend and to come away with the win after a day like yesterday is fantastic, so thank you to everyone in the team for all their hard work. I’m proud to have done it for them here – so close to our factories in Brackley and Brixworth.

Nico Rosberg 2014 British Grand Prix

Nico Rosberg

It’s a pity what happened today as I lost a lot of points in the Championship. We are always aiming for 100 % reliability but unfortunately that didn’t work out for me today. I had a small issue in the installation lap but the car felt great in the beginning. By lap 20, though, the gearbox started to become a serious problem and from then it got worse. I tried to get it into some safety settings, let Lewis through and just keep going until the end of the race. But there was nothing we could do so I had to stop the car. All I can do is accept that these things happen and work with the team to find out what went wrong. It’s a shame for the race in a way, as it could have been a great battle against Lewis, but congratulations to him for the win. Now we are heading to Germany with the quickest car and I’m looking forward to a home Grand Prix for both Mercedes-Benz and myself.

Toto Wolff

It was a day of two halves for the team – a fantastic result for Lewis at his home race and disappointment for Nico when he had to retire. First, the positive aspect: Lewis drove a faultless race today. He made up positions at the start and in the opening laps after the restart, then it was shaping up to be a big battle until Nico started to suffer the gearbox problems. But what I want to praise most of all is Lewis’ approach today. He had a bad qualifying session but he arrived at the circuit this morning in such a positive frame of mind and determined to perform – and he did that for his home fans. It was a great performance that showed his mental strength. Nico was doing a great job leading the race today and handled his retirement like the professional he is: he understands that this is part of motor racing and that we still have a long way to go this year. For our team, it’s great to win at Silverstone for the second year in a row, so close to our factories in Brackley and Brixworth. And for Mercedes-Benz, it’s a special day too – to win on the 60th anniversary of the company’s first victory with Juan Manuel Fangio. It’s a proud day for all of us.

Paddy Lowe

It’s fantastic to produce a win at our home circuit and I’d like to dedicate this to all our team-mates in Brackley and Brixworth – I know they will have been living through every second with us, so this one is for you all. Our W05 Hybrid car was very strong today: Silverstone is a benchmark circuit not just for engine performance but also for aerodynamic efficiency, and we saw incredible pace from Nico and Lewis in the opening stint. There we had two of the best drivers in the world, right on the limit, fighting tooth and nail – and every sector of every lap counted. It was great to watch. We decided to put the drivers on different tyre strategies, with Nico planning to run option/option/prime – and Lewis offset on the slower option/prime/option strategy, which could have given him a chance to challenge for the lead in the closing laps. It was shaping up that way until Nico’s problems. It was a real blow to lose Nico’s car: there was an early sign of a problem with a strange downshift, then it went away for 10 laps before recurring. We tried to change settings to remedy the situation but ultimately he lost drive and had to retire. But on the positive side, Lewis delivered a fantastic home win for the crowd – and it couldn’t have been better at Silverstone’s 50th British Grand Prix. It’s eight wins in nine races now, which is an amazing statistic, but today also reminded us that we need to keep focusing on every small detail if we want to maintain that level of performance.

AMG and Petronas Oil partnered together to film James Bond inspired action short featuring Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG and Petronas Oil. Watch the video below for a look at Liquid & Metal.

A challenging Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday saw Nico Rosberg finish the race in eighth position while Lewis Hamilton retired after only seven laps.

• Lewis suffered a right-rear tyre puncture following contact with Sebastian Vettel on the run to turn one

• The damage caused by the lap returning to the pits meant the team retired the car after seven laps

• Nico made his first pit stop on lap 12 and was subsequently given a drive-through penalty for an unsafe release

• He served this on lap 16, suffering a time loss of around 20 seconds in the process

• Nico made two further stops on laps 24 and 39, running option/prime/option/prime, on his way to eighth place

Nico Rosberg

I made a good start today and was in a strong position until my first pit stop. Unfortunately we then had the incident as I left the pit box which ultimately cost me a top position. We will analyse internally with the team what went wrong but it was immediately clear that we would get a penalty. After that, we switched to a three-stop strategy and that worked out as well as it could for us. I was able to do some good overtaking manoeuvres, although I wasn’t happy with Perez as the rules are clear; you can defend once and close the door but you can’t switch sides again. Trying to overtake the Sauber at the end was very tough and while it’s difficult to be satisfied with eighth place given our potential, at least we were able to salvage some points.

Lewis Hamilton

I got a fantastic start this afternoon, better than both Red Bulls for probably the first time this year. Mark moved right, so I had to move as well, which sandwiched Sebastian between me and Romain. Seb’s front wing clipped my right rear, cut the tyre and that was that. It wasn’t his fault at all, just one of those things that wasn’t meant to be this afternoon. I feel most gutted for the team – the guys here at the track and in the factory – because they are doing an amazing job right now and we’re just not getting the reward for it. Looking to the last four races, I will just be going out there to enjoy them and score as many points as I can for the team. I still believe that second in the Constructors’ Championship is in our reach if our luck takes a turn for the better and that’s what we will all be aiming for.

Ross Brawn

A tough afternoon for us which was made more frustrating by the fact that we had a good car today and unfortunately did not get the opportunity to demonstrate that. Our lap times were pretty competitive and the tyre durability was good but for various reasons, we weren’t able to race well. We suffered a puncture with Lewis off the line and, whilst he managed to recover to the pits, the damage subsequently proved too great to continue. With Nico, we had the issue with the pit stop which led to the drive through penalty. We’re normally a pretty reliable team in the pits and I don’t fully understand what happened yet but we will investigate and take any necessary actions. The team has worked extremely hard over the past two weeks and I still believe we have the potential to finish the season in second place in the Constructors’ Championship but we have to use the potential of the car to the full in the four remaining races to achieve that aim.

Toto Wolff

That was a character-building afternoon for our team. Lewis suffered an unfortunate racing incident on the run down to turn one and had to complete an entire lap with a punctured right-rear tyre. That seriously damaged the underfloor of the car and it became clear soon after he went back out that the rear brake temperatures were climbing and the car pulling to the right. So the only sensible precaution was to retire the car after seven laps. As for Nico, he drove a strong race but his finishing position was dictated by the drive-through penalty that he received for an unsafe release at his first pit stop. After that, he recovered well to finish in eighth position and salvage four points.

Mercedes AMG Petronas driver, Lewis Hamilton won the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday. The win marked his first time being first on the podium as a Silver Arrow driver and his 22nd career victory. Landing on the podium alongside Hamilton was Kimi Räikkönen from Lotus-Renault in second and Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber in third and fourth.

Lewis Hamilton victory at 2013 Hungarian Grand Prix

• Lewis’ win was the 13th Formula One win for a Silver Arrow and the third victory in five races for the team

• Lewis’ fourth win at the Hungaroring also took the tally of wins for Mercedes-Benz F1 engines to 99

• Lewis completed three pit stops on laps 9, 31 and 50, running option/prime/prime/prime

• Nico tangled with Felipe Massa in turn 5 on lap one and dropped to P12

• He also made three stops but retired with an engine failure on lap 65

• Lewis’ victory strengthened the team’s second position in the Constructors’ Championship at the season’s halfway point

Lewis Hamilton

What a great weekend! We really didn’t expect this when we came here this weekend and I said last night that I would need a miracle to win today. Well, just maybe they do happen. The team called the strategy and the pit stops just right and then it was just about managing the gap. I had some racing to do out there, though, with Jenson and Mark and I think we had the pace on everyone today. The team has just done an exceptional job: we have worked so hard to understand these tyres and we got the balance spot on today. I am very hopeful this could be a real turning point for us as we coped with these high track temperatures. I would like to say a massive thank you to everyone at the team here and at our factories in Brackley and Brixworth. Team work achieved this result today and I really couldn’t be happier.

Lewis Hamilton Hungarian Grand Prix

Nico Rosberg

Today was a great day for the team, for Lewis and a brilliant job by everyone here at the track and back at our factories. Unfortunately my weekend didn’t go quite so well and it’s a shame that we couldn’t have had a two-car finish today. I got a good start but then Felipe and I came together on the first lap which was unfortunate as I was in front and had left some space for him but his front wing hit my rear tyre. That cost me a lot of positions and it’s really difficult to make the places back up on this track. Then my day came to an early conclusion with the engine failure. However there are lots of positives for us to take as a team from this weekend and now I really look forward to the upcoming races as we know that we have a quick car and we made the new tyres work for us this weekend.

Ross Brawn

We went into this race not really knowing where we stood in terms of tyre performance and behaviour but as the race unfolded, it became clear that we were able to stay competitive with both cars and drivers. Lewis drove an absolutely perfect race and didn’t put a foot wrong all afternoon. He was able to race aggressively and keep the tyres alive to make our strategy work. Nico was unfortunate to get tangled up with Massa on the first lap and then suffered an engine failure, which was a little worrying in the closing laps as we hadn’t seen any signs of overheating. Overall, this has been a very encouraging weekend. In extremely hot conditions, we maintained our Saturday afternoon competitiveness on Sunday afternoon and it certainly feels like we have made a good step forward today. Now we need to get our heads down before the well-deserved two-week shutdown so that we arrive in Spa as well prepared as we possibly can.

Toto Wolff

What an outstanding drive from Lewis this afternoon – he got a clean getaway and then executed the race strategy perfectly, including some really strong and aggressive overtaking moves when he needed to. He did a great job, just like the team with six clean pit stops for our drivers and the right race strategy. Nico lost positions on the first lap tangling with Felipe and then was making up places when his engine failed near the end of the race. That gave us a nervous few closing laps but we were able to bring Lewis’ car home safely. We came into this weekend with a lot of discussion over how the new tyres would affect us. We did our homework in practice, found the right set-up and managed to take a good step forward this afternoon with how we managed the tyres in race conditions. It is only halfway through the season and our rivals have been consistently competitive while we have experienced some ups and downs in the first ten races. Our target for the second half of the year must be to consolidate our performance and deliver this kind of speed consistently. We are still the underdogs right now but we are on an upward trend and we will keep working hard. Thank you to everyone at our factories back in Brackley and Brixworth for their hard work and enjoy a well-deserved summer break. Congratulations as well to our customer sport team-mates who took victory for Mercedes-Benz in the Spa 24 Hours. It’s been a good day for the three-pointed star!

Yesterday we saw MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS driver Lewis Hamilton swap his F1 car for the new A45 AMG and while he had nothing but rave reviews for the hot hatch, now he’s swapped his Formula One car for something a little faster and more his style. Hamilton flew with the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team as part of the team’s build up to the British Grand Prix weekend at Silverstone.

Hamilton and BBC’s David Coulthard experienced first hand one of the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, more well known as the Red Arrows, practice sessions. The entire day was filmed by the BBC to use as pre-race coverage for this weekend’s British Grand Prix. The special coverage gives a behind the scenes look at the Red Arrows and how their world overlaps with the world of F1.

Engineers and mechanics from the Mercedes AMG Petronas team had a chance to see just how the Royal Air Force operates and how the Red Arrows pilots rely heavily on the expertise and precision of their engineers and support staff, known as the Blues, to perform their perfectly every time. This behind the scenes looked proved invaluable to Lewis and the team as Lewis relies the same on his team.

Before heading up in the air, rigorous medical and safety measures were taken to ensure the safety of Mercedes’ world champion driver everyone. Once completed, the Blues, Hamilton and Coulthard got to experience the Hawk T1 jets in a three-ship formation with Red1, Red 6 and Red 10. During their 30-minute flight, the pair experienced upt to 4.5Gs, a similar G-Force to those felt in F1, while going through a series of ‘loops and rolls’ in their jets. Once back on the ground, Lewis took out the MGP W02 demo car, for a spin along the runway at RAF Scampton while David flew in Red 10 overhead. Both the car and the jet approached top speeds of 198 mph and 520 knots (598 mph).

Lewis Hamilton “had an amazing day with the RAF Red Arrows,” “I absolutely loved the experience of flying with their team. To see first-hand how skilled the pilots are, and the similarities to the level of team work and precision that we need to get the best out of a Formula One car, was fascinating. The loops and rolls in the jet are such an intense experience and I’ve got so much admiration for those guys and their unbelievable flying skills. They actually let me fly the jet on the first flight; the pilot brought me up into position and then gave me the controls. That was intense and it’s surprising how sensitive the controls are and how tough it is to keep in formation. To then jump out of the jet and drive our Silver Arrow down the runway at 300 kph with a jet screaming 100ft overhead, hitting close to1000 kph (621 mph), was beyond cool. We’re used to big lateral G loads in Formula One but experiencing negative vertical G is something else. A big thank you to everyone at RAF Scampton for such an incredible experience, for allowing us to go behind the scenes of their practice display, and for making us feel so welcome.”

Squadron Leader Jim Turner, Red 1, Team Leader of the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team said “the Red Arrows were honored to be able to host Lewis Hamilton and the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team at our home base at RAF Scampton. Both Lewis and David Coulthard flew with the team, starting with a shakedown sortie to see if they were up to flying in a practice display. They both did very well so then flew with us for a practice display sortie which the team had scheduled and seemed to relish the opportunity to take part in the show.”

“It was a privilege to meet both Lewis Hamilton and David Coulthard and work with the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team” reported Squadron Leader Mike Ling from Red 10 and Road Manager of the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team. Link and Coulthard had a chance to compare notes on the differences and similarities between driving a F1 car and flying a jet at nearly tripple the speed. Coulthard was surprised with how sensitive the jet’s controls were and impressed with the skill it takes to fly in such close formation.

What came across most during the day, was the similarity and the importance of teamwork required in both Formula One and in the Royal Air Force. The driver of the car may be the face of the team but they’re only the tip of the iceberg. The heart of the team are the engineers and technicians in the Mercedes garage and factory. It is no different for the Red Arrows, there are nine pilots flying, but there are 100 engineers and support staff who ensure the they’re able to do what they do and come home safely.

Lewis Hamilton is a 28 year old Mercedes AMG F1 driver and world champion that dates a Pussycat Doll, making him the perfect spokesman for the new Mercedes A45 AMG.  He’s in the right age range of those looking to buy the hot hatch, he’s a good driver and he clearly has good taste.

This is Hamilton’s first year for the Mercedes AMG F1 team, coming off a six year run with McLaren, and Mercedes-Benz is taking full advantage of their partnership. Since he signed with Mercedes, Hamilton has been promoting the newest products in the AMG line. After he starred in an A45 AMG ad with fellow Mercedes AMG F1 driver Nico Rosberg (video posted below), Lewis again took out the smallest AMG model to show that “big emotions can fit in small packages.”

The Mercedes A45 AMG sprints 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) in 4.6 seconds with a top speed of 155 mph (250 km/h), an impressive feat for a hot hatchback. Hamilton compares the A45 AMG to a Formula 1 car, saying the throttle responses in both cars are similar.  It’s an exaggeration no doubt, but doesn’t it make you want to get behind the wheel and test it for yourself.

A 45 AMG TV Commercial “Apparition”

Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix was a success for Mercedes AMG Petronas driver Lewis Hamilton, landing on the podium in third behind Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso. While Hamilton sat in second most of the race, he simply didn’t have enough power to hold off the faster car of Alonso.  This marks Lewis Hamilton’s seventh race with the Mercedes AMG team, with Hamilton landing on the podium three times out of those seven. A great start to his career with Mercedes.

Team-mate Nico Rosberg, coming off a win on his home track in Monaco, took fifth place. Rosberg started the Canadian Grand Prix strong, sitting in third place behind team-mate Lewis Hamilton, but wasn’t able to keep pace with the leaders and fell back to fifth position midway through the race. Part of the problem with Nico’s speed was the decision to go with option tires over prime due to the warm track conditions.

Although the focus may have been on Hamilton and Rosberg during the race, Mercedes AMG fans and F1 fans in general are wondering what is going to happen to the team (and more specifically Ross Brawn) after word got out that they had a “private practice” with Pirelli after their poor performance in Spain. Rivals claim the practice between Mercedes and Pirelli was held in secret with both drivers wearing unidentifiable helmets.

The issue isn’t the practice itself, however, it’s the car used during the practice.  Mercedes has admitted using a 2013 car for the test, which is illegal according to the sporting regulations.  As such, Mercedes has been ordered to appear before the International Automobile Federation’s (FIA) tribunal and could face heavy sanctions. Some speculate Mercedes will let team principle Ross Brawn take the fall. Toto Wolff has said that he will stand behind Brawn, but Brawn has already come forward taking credit for the decision to do the test.

Lewis Hamilton

The car felt fantastic today and I had good grip for the low-speed corners but we just weren’t quite on the pace of Seb and Fernando. I was on the maximum that I could possibly drive and we got absolutely everything out of the car today. It would have been nice to have kept second place of course but Fernando was very quick today and it was difficult to keep him behind. I got close to taking the place back but he was just that little bit too fast. Still I’m very pleased with third place and it was a strong points-scoring day for the team with Nico’s fifth place as well. We’ve taken a step up in the Constructors’ Championship which is great for the team and gives us a nice boost going into Silverstone.

Nico Rosberg

I think fifth place was probably my optimum today and, even if my race had gone perfectly, I wasn’t able to match the pace of the guys in front. The guys had a difficult decision to make at the first stop: we were worried about the warm-up of the harder tires, so we went for the option to protect my track position against Webber and Alonso, but in hindsight it would probably have been better to go the other way because I could have run a longer second stint. I scored some good points and we know that there are areas where we can still improve our performance. But looking back to where we were a month ago, we have made some good steps forward, and it was great for Lewis to be on the podium again. We are heading in the right direction and looking forward to the next race at Silverstone, in front of our team-mates from Brackley and Brixworth.

Ross Brawn

It has been rare in recent seasons to have backmarkers become such a factor in a race as they were today. They played a decisive role in the final result but getting through traffic is one of the challenges that you have to tackle in Formula One. The car performed reasonably well but we still had some anxiety about the tyre performance in the high temperatures, so we were managing the situation carefully, particularly in the opening laps of the stints. Lewis drove a very strong race although it was a shame that he could not quite hold on to second position in the closing laps. However, that wasn’t down to him but rather the fact that we still need to find a little more performance from our car to compete with Ferrari and Red Bull. Nico had a reasonably quiet race after a strong first stint and we will have to analyse if we could have made more of the car’s performance today with him. We called him in for a third stop as a precaution, because he had flat-spotted badly the right-front tyre badly and we had nothing to gain or lose in terms of track position. Overall, a positive afternoon and another strong two-car finish that is important for our position in the Constructors’ Championship.

Toto Wolff

Lewis and Nico did a great job on track today and it was nice to see Lewis on the podium again. He tried to hold off Fernando towards the end of the race but the Ferrari was just too quick today. Nico dropped back on the option tyre and our strategy didn’t quite come to him this afternoon unfortunately. Looking ahead, we know that we need to keep bringing performance to the car and that Silverstone will be a bigger test for our tyre management. But it’s the second race in a row that we have had both cars in the top five and that is building a good platform in the championship. Well done, too, to Sebastian and Red Bull today: they didn’t put a foot wrong all afternoon.

Starting off the 2013 Bahrain Grand Prix from pole position, Mercedes AMG Petronas’ Nico Rosberg led the race for two laps before being overtaken on the third lap by Sebastian Vettel who would then go on to win the race.  Rosberg battled for fifth position for quite some time before dropping back after contact was made with Mark Webber’s Red Bull car, requiring him to take a fourth pit stop. Rosberg finished respectively in ninth position.

Lewis Hamilton started off the race in 9th position and dropped back as far as 11 in an effort to conserve his tires but truly came alive when he overtook the Webber’s Red Bull car on the 51st lap. Webber managed to take over Hamilton on the 53rd lap, setting up a great to watch side-by-side racing battle  between the two – Webber blocked Hamilton and Hamilton ducked and dived behind him. It was on the very last lap of the race going into Turn 1 with Hamilton on the inside that Webber had to concede to Hamilton ending in a fifth place finish for Hamilton and a seventh place finish for Webber.

• Lewis completed a three-stop strategy to finish in fifth place after starting ninth
• He stopped on laps 10, 22 and 38, running option/option/prime/prime
• After starting from pole, Nico was forced to convert to a four-stop strategy at the end of his third stint
• He stopped on laps 9, 20, 33 and 44, running option/prime/prime/option/option

Lewis Hamilton

I’m really happy with our result today. It’s been a tough weekend for us but we got through it and finishing in fifth place was some good damage limitation. My race didn’t start well at all. I was looking after the tires but I really struggled on the first two stints and was falling back. But as the temperatures dropped, the car picked up and then I had the grip that I needed to push and close the gap. I had so much fun fighting with Mark at the end. We really needed that point and I was so determined to get by. It was good, clean wheel-to-wheel racing. I’m very proud of what we have achieved over the first four races and to be third in the Drivers’ Championship is beyond any of our expectations. But we’ve got to keep pushing and find more performance. We’re hanging on by the skin of our teeth at the moment and, if we can make that next step, then we can close the gap.

Nico Rosberg

A tough day for me. As nice as it was to start from pole this afternoon, it was just as hard to finish in ninth place. I didn’t feel comfortable in the car today and it wasn’t much fun out there really. We switched to a four-stop strategy at the end of my third stint but it wasn’t enough. We were using the rear tyres too much and at the end, I was really struggling and wasn’t able to push hard enough. There is a lot of work ahead and we need to focus on why our race performance isn’t matching the pace that we can show in qualifying. Hopefully we can make some steps here before the European season starts.

Ross Brawn

We struggled badly in the early part of the race when the track temperatures were at their highest. This is an issue we have to address and we will continue working on solutions to improve our performance in this area. In the second half of the race, as the track temperatures cooled somewhat, our pace was not bad – particularly with Lewis. We got two cars home in the points, both drivers enjoyed some exciting wheel-to-wheel racing and the pit crew delivered some great stops. Lewis and Nico did as good a job as possible with the car we had this afternoon but it was a case of damage limitation for both of them. However we must make it a priority to cope better with elevated temperatures: the tyres are the same for everybody and we are not performing as well as our competitors in these conditions.

Toto Wolff

We knew it would be a tough day and the high track temperatures were clearly not good for us. That’s not an excuse but a priority area to improve. We need to analyse carefully why we suffered so much, particularly in the early stages, and why we were not on the pace. Both drivers were tough but fair in defending their positions and delivered some good racing, particularly Lewis in the closing stages. But from a team perspective we must see this as a disappointing result. We learned a lot this afternoon but it is clear that we still have a lot to learn.

Staring first on the gird at the 2013 Chinese Grand Prix, the new Mercedes AMG Petronas Driver Lewis Hamilton ran a great race but his car and his tires just weren’t up to the challenge. Despite falling back from first, Lewis Hamilton still managed to achieve his second successive podium for Mercedes AMG Petronas with a third place finish in Shanghai.  First place went to Fernando Alonso with Kimi Räikkönen coming in second.

Teammate Nico Rosberg did not fair quite as well however. Starting the race in the fourth position, Rosberg only managed to complete 21 laps before retiring early due to the rear anti-roll bar breaking and throwing off the balance of the car.

Continue on for quotes from the Mercedes AMG Petronas team or skip straight down to the photo gallery for a complete look at the 2013 Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai.

• Lewis started from pole and completed a three-stop option/prime/prime/prime strategy, stopping on laps 5, 21 and 37
• Nico was following the same strategy and had stopped on laps 5 and19, followed by a further stop on lap 20
• The team retired his car on lap 21 when a problem with the rear anti-roll bar was identified

Nico Rosberg

The race was tough for me today and with my set-up I had an unexpected level of understeer which made it difficult to drive. After my second pit stop, the feeling got worse and I had one front wheel in the air during the corners. The rear anti-roll bar, which influences the balance of the car, had broken so unfortunately we had to retire the car. It’s a shame and I’ve had a difficult start to the season with two DNFs. But it’s good to have the next race in just seven days time so hopefully we can put this result behind us with a strong weekend in Bahrain. It was great for the team to get another podium today.

Lewis Hamilton

It was a good race for me today and whilst I would have loved the win, I’m really happy with third place and being on the podium for the second race in a row. Fernando and Kimi were just a little bit too fast for us during the race and my tires were shot at the end trying to keep ahead of Sebastian. I could see his car getting bigger and bigger in my mirrors so it was nice to be able to hang on for the third place. The guys did a great job this weekend to get us where we were; on pole and finishing third. We got the absolute most out of the car we had and that’s very satisfying. We’re not quite there yet in terms of overall pace but everyone is working so hard and I know we can do it.

Ross Brawn

We didn’t quite enjoy the balance with the car today that we were expecting. Clearly the track had moved away from us and perhaps more towards one or two other teams. Certainly we didn’t have as good a balance in the race as we had on Friday. With Lewis, we did the best we could with the car we had today and he drove extremely well. We needed to keep the stints as evenly balanced as possible to make sure we had adequate tyre life, however, even with that, it became very close with Sebastian at the end. Nico was running with the same issues a few places back when a problem with the rear anti-roll bar meant we had to stop the car. Overall we can be confident that we’ve made another step forward this weekend, and the fact that we’re all a little disappointed with third is a measure of the ambition and expectations of the team.

Toto Wolff

Well done to Lewis for the second podium finish in the last two races. He drove a very good race, just fending off Sebastian who had reeled him in on his option tires over the last five laps. Starting from pole obviously raises expectations, however we knew that tyre management would be very critical for us today. During practice and qualifying, the track conditions suited us better than in the race today and, as a result, the balance of the car changed and wasn’t as good for both drivers. Unfortunately Nico had to retire from the race on lap 21 with a broken anti-roll bar and we will analyse the reason for this. We will work hard to make sure that technical problems like the ones Nico experienced do not happen again so that both drivers can score points in the Bahrain Grand Prix next weekend.