Mexico marked the 100th win for Mercedes in F1, while Austin’s victory was the 100th together for Brackley and Brixworth. To mark these special milestones, we take a trip down memory lane…
The 10 Most Special Mercedes Wins in Formula One
1. 1954 French Grand Prix: The Very First
The 1954 French Grand Prix at Reims marked a number of huge milestones for Mercedes-Benz. It was the first Formula One race for Mercedes and also saw the brand return to Grand Prix racing for the first time since the late 1930s.
With the new W196, the team absolutely dominated the race, with Juan Manuel Fangio claiming a historic victory. Karl Kling crossed the line in second place to make it a 1-2 finish and the 0.100s margin between the two Mercedes cars has proved to not only be the team’s closest ever winning margin, but also one of the tightest in F1.
2. 1955 British Grand Prix: A 1-2-3-4
Scoring a 1-2 finish in Formula One is a rare achievement, so to finish 1-2-3-4 is absolutely extraordinary. Of course, a result like this could never be scored in modern F1, with just two cars per team, but back in the 1950s this wasn’t the case.
Mercedes entered four cars for the 1955 British Grand Prix at Aintree and the cars proved to be in complete control, with Stirling Moss securing a stunning win over team-mate Juan Manuel Fangio. It was his first win in F1, and the first time a British driver had won their home Grand Prix. Karl Kling and Piero Taruffi were next to make it a 1-2-3-4 for the three-pointed star.
3. 2012 Chinese Grand Prix: A Historic Victory
Nico Rosberg’s win at the 2012 Chinese Grand Prix marked the first Formula One triumph for the modern-day Mercedes-Benz works team and the marque’s first F1 win in over 56 years.
2012 proved to be a challenging season of ups and downs for the team, but the stand-out moment was undoubtedly that joyful Sunday in Shanghai. Michael Schumacher in the sister W03 had qualified strongly too, starting alongside Nico on the front row, but unfortunately a loose wheel at his first pit stop halted his charge.
4. 2014 Australian Grand Prix: The First Hybrid Success
Formula One entered a new era in 2014, with the introduction of hybrid engines. The new age brought new opportunities to shake-up the competitive order and that’s exactly what happened.
Mercedes kicked off this new era of F1 in style with victory at the season-opener in Australia. It was a commanding and controlled victory for Rosberg in the W05, having catapulted himself from third to first at the start. Lewis Hamilton didn’t fare so well, however, after an early engine problem dropped him out of the race. So, there were mixed fortunes in this first race of hybrid F1 for Mercedes. In the following years, the 1.6-litre V6 Turbo hybrid Power Units reached a thermal efficiency of more than 50 percent, making them some of the most efficient internal combustion engines in the world.
5. 2014 Bahrain Grand Prix: The Duel in the Desert
The 2014 Bahrain Grand Prix has come to be known as the ‘Duel in the Desert’. The two Silver cars, battling it out, lap after lap for victory. Hamilton held the track position after a strong start, but Rosberg was relentless in his attack, diving up the inside into Turn 1 on numerous occasions. He couldn’t quite make the moves stick, though, and some strong defensive driving from Hamilton enabled him to hold onto first place by the chequered flag.
6. 2017 Russian Grand Prix: Valtteri’s Debut on the Top Step
A driver’s first victory in F1 is a hugely special moment. Something they’ve dreamed off for many, many years, since they were a young kid. Valtteri Bottas secured his maiden win in F1 with Mercedes at the 2017 Russian Grand Prix and he did so in spectacular fashion.
The Finn was on incredible form from the very start of the weekend, getting straight into a rhythm at the Sochi Autodrom. He started from third on the grid but powered past both Ferraris on the long run to Turn 2, after a stunning launch from the grid.
It wasn’t an easy run to victory for Bottas, with Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari looming in his mirrors for much of the final part of the race. Under huge pressure, Bottas held Vettel off to clinch his first F1 win by just six tenths of a second.
7. 2017 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Celebrating in Style
It doesn’t get much better than ending a season with a 1-2 finish. Mercedes crushed the competition in Abu Dhabi in 2017, with Bottas taking a commanding win and Hamilton a close second. But it wasn’t just the win and the way it was achieved that made the race so special.
Afterwards, instead of heading into the pit lane to parc ferme, Bottas and Hamilton decided to sign off the W08 with some celebratory donuts. The sight of the two Silver Arrows kicking up smoke on the main straight was a remarkable one and they were joined shortly after by Felipe Massa’s Williams, as he bowed out of F1.
8. 2018 German Grand Prix: The Unexpected Result
The 2018 German Grand Prix had all of the ingredients for a thrilling F1 race – changeable conditions, fast cars fighting through from the back of the grid, mid-race drama and some stunning wheel-to-wheel action.
Starting 14th on the grid, it wasn’t going to be a straightforward afternoon for Hamilton, but after scything his way through the field and taking advantage of the conditions, he remarkably emerged from the 67-lap race in first place with Bottas second to make it a 1-2.
9. 2019 Hungarian Grand Prix: The Brave Call
When Hamilton peeled off into the pits on lap 48 of the 2019 Hungarian Grand Prix for a fresh set of Medium tyres, many questioned the strategic decision. Even Hamilton himself was unsure, having now dropped 20 seconds behind leader Max Verstappen – with only 22 laps to go.
The gap started to close down as the chequered flag loomed closer and with seven to go, Verstappen started struggling with his tyres. Hamilton was just six seconds behind at this point and with three to go, he was right on the Red Bull’s gearbox.
Hamilton braked late on the outside line into Turn 1 and was able to sweep around the outside of Verstappen, snatching the lead away in the closing stages and going on to take victory – thanks to a combination of great driving and a brave, risky but successful strategy call.
10. 2019 Mexican Grand Prix: The 100th
Before the 2019 Mexican Grand Prix, only three teams had scored over 100 wins in Formula One: Ferrari, McLaren and Williams. But Mercedes joined the exclusive club in Mexico, after a superb drive by Lewis.
Victory looked possible but unlikely for Lewis after the first lap, due to a clash with Verstappen and trip across the grass dropping him to fifth. He’d also picked up minor floor and front wing damage in the contact.
However, his execution of a one-stop strategy was close to perfect. Lewis gained places when Leclerc and Albon, on two-stop races, pitted early and then passed Vettel with the undercut. Despite the tyre age offset, he was able to keep out of reach of the Ferrari to claim the 100th win in F1 for Mercedes.