From Werner to Antonelli – Two Historic Mercedes Victories 125 Years Apart

Formula One is data driven – it runs on essential numbers. Fandom too can sometimes appear numbers-focused.

Statistics to collect and recall – to inform, but not define. Occasionally, however, numbers can align perfectly to tell a greater story. To explain not only how we race, but why.

As Kimi crossed the finish line at Suzuka, he claimed his second Grand Prix victory, and the 125th for the modern Mercedes-Benz F1 team. One hundred and twenty five wins by the Silver Arrows from Brackley and Brixworth, while proudly carrying the three-pointed star, the history and the expectation of Stuttgart.

A significant achievement, on a significant date – for Sunday 29th March marked the 125th anniversary of Mercedes' first motorsport victory.

To say that the series of races in Nice, France at the end of March 1901 were a success for Mercedes is an understatement. These very first Mercédès cars had appeared publicly for the first time around Christmas 1900. Now, in the city where they had been imagined into life, they achieved race results that made the world sit up and take notice.

The first event was a road race, Nice-Salon-Nice. Three new Mercédès’ took the start and, after 290 miles of racing, Wilhelm Werner was victorious, on Henri de Rothschild's Mercédès. In the touring event to Draguignan, it was Hermann Braun's turn to win. That left one race to conclude the meeting – the famous hill climb from Nice to La Turbie on 29th March.

Wilhelm Werner raced the white car along the Grande Corniche, higher and higher, faster and faster. And when the clocks were stopped in La Turbie he was declared the winner – the old record beaten by almost a minute. Three great races, three conclusive wins for Mercedes.

The victories at Nice that week prompted journalist Paul Meyan of 'La France Automobile' to declare, "Nous sommes entrés dans l'ère Mercédès" (We have entered the Mercedes era). His successors might well have used the same phrase on social media as Kimi took the flag on Sunday, 125 years later.

Kimi Antonelli and Wilhelm Werner – two Mercedes victories on 29th March, a world apart, linked by the number 125. And linked in other ways – echoes that speak of the heart of Mercedes' racing history and philosophy.

That first Mercedes car of 1901 was the dream of a formidable yet family-focused businessman from Vienna, living on the French Riviera. Under the leadership of “The King of Designers”, Wilhelm Maybach, it was the product of a design and manufacture facility facing the challenge of building a completely new type of car. A car to leap ahead of the competition in speed and success.

They found new ways of working and learned to deploy their considerable talents to best meet the goal. It was tough. They were time-constrained, and their cutting-edge solutions proved challenging in practice. Yet they prevailed.

In 1900, as today, 'all it takes is all of us'.

One hundred and twenty five years from now those with a feel for history will still mark the races & victories of 1901. They will note how it was the starting gun for the automotive century – the Mercedes age.

With hard work and good fortune, the men and women of Lauda Drive and Morgan Drive will reach their 250th win too. Who knows which stars yet unknown will follow Rosberg, Hamilton, Bottas, Russell and Antonelli.

Who knows which machines yet undreamed will carry The Star to the next 125.