TEAM PREVIEW: The post-Lewis Hamilton era has arrived – 2025 is the start of Mercedes’ new chapter

History

The Mercedes name is one of the most recognisable in the world, with it first appearing in Formula 1 all the way back in 1954. However, the company would withdraw completely from motorsport at the end of 1955.

It was in the late 1960s that the team we currently know as Mercedes started life in F1, then under the Tyrrell name. The squad was eventually sold to British American Racing (BAR), with the first season in their new guise coming in 1999.

WATCH: Mercedes’ 2025 livery breaks cover during F1 75 Live in London

BAR would go on to partner with Honda, and became the Japanese manufacturer’s works outfit from 2006. But when Honda announced their withdrawal from F1 at the end of 2008, it sparked one of the sport’s greatest ever fairytales.

Ross Brawn and the team’s management stepped in to buy the outfit and, in 2009, the newly named Brawn GP famously went on to secure both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships with Briton Jenson Button becoming World Champion.

After that one season as Brawn GP, Mercedes purchased the team to give the squad their current identity. With mild success from 2010 to 2013, the team then became the leading force in F1 from 2014 as they claimed eight Constructors’ titles, as well as every Drivers’ Championship between 2014 and 2020 (six for Hamilton and one for Nico Rosberg).