The dominant Formula One team for the past five seasons, Mercedes has won both constructors’ and drivers’ titles since 2014.
Much of that success has been the result of the brilliance of Lewis Hamilton behind the wheel, the Englishman winning the fifth of his world titles and fourth with the team last year, Nico Rosberg triumphant in 2016.
Mercedes first achieved success in the sport in the post war period, the great Juan-Manuel Fangio winning back-to-back titles with the ‘Silver Arrows’ in 1954 and 1955. But a horrific and tragic accident in the 1955 Le Mans race that killed 83 spectators and driver Pierre Levegh, led to an absence of 55 years away from the sport as a manufacturer.
Based in Brackley, Northamptonshire, and excellently led by team boss Toto Wolff, the team and drivers Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas will surely once again be the team to beat in 2019.
STRENGTHS: Winning has become something of a habit, confidence is high and Mercedes is operating like a well-oiled machine. The team structure seems perfect and in Lewis Hamilton they have one of the greatest drivers in the history of the sport, operating at the top of his game in an environment he loves.
WEAKNESSES: Almost none. Will complacency become a factor and how will they react if put under consistent pressure from a rival? Perhaps in need of a second driver capable of pushing Hamilton even harder, though Bottas is no slouch himself despite a disappointing 2018.
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