Mercedes-AMG Motorsport achieved success in two motor racing classics at the weekend – in the French Grand Prix and in the legendary Nürburgring 24-hour race
This is what happened: Results and facts
News snippets
Stats and more stats – France: The premier class made its second visit to the Circuit Paul Ricard at the weekend after its return to France last year. Lewis Hamilton did well again at the Le Castellet track, securing pole position and the win as he had done the previous year. All in all, this was his 79th success in Formula 1, his sixth of the season and his second on French soil. Earlier on Saturday, Lewis had taken his 86th F1 pole. Valtteri Bottas finished second, giving the team their 50th one-two win in the top class of motorsport.
Spielberg here we come: The race in France had barely finished before it was time to crack on with preparations for the next grand prix. Teams and drivers will head directly from the south of France to Spielberg for this weekend’s ninth round of the season, the Austrian Grand Prix. The team’s memories of the Red Bull Ring are bittersweet. Between 2014 and 2017, the Silver Arrows managed to take four consecutive victories at the track in Styria (twice with Nico Rosberg, once with Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas). Last year, though, the team faced the low point of the season at Spielberg with a double retirement. A Mercedes driver has started from pole position in every one of the past four years, (Lewis twice in a row and then Valtteri the last two times). Still, the brand with the three-pointed star can look back on no less than seven victories, seven pole positions and 17 podium finishes in Austria.
Successful 24-hour race for Mercedes-AMG: Another finish on the podium and the launch of a world first – the 47th edition of the ADAC TOTAL 24h race at the Nürburgring was a success for Mercedes-AMG. On the track, the number 3 of Mercedes-AMG Team BLACK FALCON brought a turbulent race weekend to a happy conclusion. The four drivers – Maximilian Buhk, Hubert Haupt, Thomas Jäger and Luca Stolz (all GER) – secured third place after 24 hours. The vehicles from Affalterbach had earlier demonstrated their sheer power in Top Qualifying, locking out the front-row of the grid with car number 2 fielded by Mercedes-AMG Team BLACK FALCON and the number 48 of Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER. The Mercedes-AMG GT3 bearing start number 2 had led the enormously strong field for a total of 30 laps until an unfortunate incident brought early retirement for the car that had been heading for vitory. As the race progressed, the number 48 MANN-FILTER ‘Mamba’ and car #6 from Mercedes-AMG team BLACK FALCON were involved in a series of impressive battles for the podium with their rivals. However, both of them got unlucky as crashes halted their progress. The Mercedes-AMG GT3 number 3 of Mercedes-AMG Team BLACK FALCON finally proved to be in it for the longest haul. Buhk, Haupt, Jäger and Stolz held their own, going the distance in the Top Ten throughout the race while taking advantage of retirements at the head of the field to make their move on the podium. Having taken the last stint, Hubert Haupt crossed the finish line in third place after 156 laps. Taking seventh place, another Mercedes-AMG GT3 finished the endurance classic in the Top Ten, car number 18 of GetSpeed Performance with drivers Luca Ludwig (GER), Jules Szymkowiak (NED), Fabian Vettel and Philip Ellis (both GER). Also, BLACK FALCON team IDENTICA succeeded in defending their title in Class SP10. Marek Böckmann (GER), Yannick Mettler (SUI), Tobias Müller (GER) and Tristan Viidas (EST) secured 18th place overall in the Mercedes-AMG GT4, thus repeating their victory in class from the previous year.
Fans at the track were very well catered for. Autograph-signing sessions with the drivers, interesting high-performance vehicles and rare special models brought motorsport to life for some 230,000 spectators, who came through the gates over the weekend. Back at Mercedes-AMG Fan Base, motor racing enthusiasts were able to follow the race on a huge screen and take part in a pit-stop contest. The atmosphere was terrific as was the summer weather. Mercedes-AMG were also responsible for another highlight on Friday when the new Mercedes-AMG GT3 was presented to the public for the first time. The car is the logical development of its successful predecessor and can boast not only spectacular design but also plenty of innovative features, including a world first for racing cars, a system that automatically records running times for vehicle components. A drop-start function to make pit stops easier is also available as an option. The new racing car will be delivered to teams from the end of 2019 onwards and contest its first season in 2020, which will be just in time for the tenth anniversary year of Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing, during which the performance and sports car brand from Affalterbach will once again fight for the coveted win in the Green Hell.
Victory in Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia and podium in British GT: At the Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia meeting in Suzuka, Japan, Alessio Picariello (BEL) and Jeffrey Lee (TWN) from Craft-Bamboo Racing drove to a lights-to-flag victory in the second race. The pairing in car number 88 saw off every attack that the opposition could muster and crossed the finish line in first place after 60 minutes. The sister car, the #98 GT4 driven by Frank Yu (HKG) and Jean-Marc Merlin (FRA), finished third in the same race. Two Mercedes-AMG GT4s had secured a one-two victory in class earlier on Saturday. Team iRaceWin with drivers, Ringo Chong (SGP) and Setiawan Santoso (INA), took first place from GTO Racing with TTR and their crew, Brian Lee (TWN) and Tony Fong Wai Shing (HKG). Fox Motorsport also took a podium in the GT4 class of the British GT Championship. Mark Murfitt and Michael Broadhurst (GBR) brought their #77 Mercedes-AMG GT4 home in third place at Donington.
Social Media News
#F1Technology: Technology Director, Mike Elliott, explains how the braking system works on an F1 car, demonstrates how the different parts function and how they work together as a system.
Watch video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODaPkCehkkA
#PETRONAS: Each year, the team plays host to interns from PETRONAS University of Technology who work in the team for seven months! See how they responded when Valtteri popped in for a chat!
Watch video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0ikAeOXJaE
#24hAMG / #24hNBR: Watch again as the #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 from Mercedes-AMG Team BLACK FALCON achieves podium success at the Nürburgring.
Watch video: www.facebook.com/MercedesAMGCustomerRacing/videos/381026349197580/
#24hAMG / #24hNBR: The night stints in the Green Hell – there’s always a very special atmosphere for both drivers and fans.
Video ansehen: www.facebook.com/watch/?v=465025810958536
#24hAMG / #24hNBR: The start of the 47th edition of the ADAC TOTAL 24-hour race – fans in their thousands and 155 cars on the Nürburgring’s main straight.
Watch video: www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2298043830468857
#24hAMG / #24hNBR: Friday revisited – double pole in Top Qualifying and bright sunshine for Mercedes-AMG autograph-signing session. The Nürburgring weekend got off to a perfect start.