Cookie Consent by Free Privacy Policy website Tales from the paddock: Further fine-tuning of the new all-electric Silver Arrow during tests in Mallorca
agosto 07, 2019 - Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport

Tales from the paddock: Further fine-tuning of the new all-electric Silver Arrow during tests in Mallorca

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Preparations for ABB FIA Formula E Championship debut on schedule as Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team conduct test drives in Mallorca

  • This is what happened: Results and facts
  • News from the Mercedes-AMG Motorsport teams
  • Social media news: What’s new online?

This is what happened: Results and facts

  • Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton wins the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest
  • VLN: One-two victory for the Mercedes-AMG GT3 on the Nürburgring Nordschleife – Patrick Assenheimer and Maro Engel cross the line ahead of Adam Christodoulou, Hubert Haupt and Luca Stolz
  • Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia: Roelof Bruins and Manuel Metzger win the Saturday race at the Korean International Circuit in Yeongam
  • IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge: Podium finish for the Mercedes-AMG GT4 on the Road America circuit at Elkhart Lake

News snippets

Stat-Attack – Budapest: In Hungary, the team passed a third big milestone within just a week. Mercedes had already celebrated its 200th Grand Prix and 125 years of motorsport in the home race for the brand at Hockenheim. The Budapest weekend marked the tenth anniversary of the first Formula 1 win for a hybrid car. It was ten years ago at the Hungaroring that Lewis Hamilton, driving a McLaren-Mercedes, registered the first victory for a Formula 1 car equipped with KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System). Ten years later, it was Lewis again, this time in a Mercedes-AMG F1 W10 EQ Power+ with a 1.6-litre turbocharged hybrid power unit, notching up the latest success in the hybrid era of Formula 1 which began in 2014. It was his seventh victory in the Hungarian Grand Prix, which makes it his most successful race on the F1 itinerary alongside the Canadian Grand Prix in which he also has seven wins. Sunday was also the 300th time in the history of Formula 1 that a car powered by Mercedes-Benz has led a race. For more information about the development of hybrid power in the premier class: http://mb4.me/rF4cYG7m

Encouraging test in #mallorcaThe debut of the Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team is getting closer and closer. During the past week, the team was in #mallorca for the latest in a series of tests in preparation for entry into the ABB FIA Formula E Championship towards the end of autumn. Stoffel Vandoorne, Edoardo Mortara and Esteban Gutiérrez were on hand to assist in the development of the new Mercedes-Benz EQ #silverarrow 01.

“It was a positive test that provided the opportunity to put in quite a few kilometres,” said Stoffel Vandoorne. The Belgian pro already knows the car from test drives in Varano: “It was very good. We made solid progress, and everything went smoothly. After the first functional tests, it’s been fascinating to gradually start working on all the different areas. But the time just seems to fly by, and there is still a lot of work to do.”

For Edoardo Mortara, it was his second time at the wheel of the new all-electric #silverarrow after the previous test sessions at Varano. “We have made good progress,” said Edoardo at the end of the #mallorca test. “It’s been good to follow the evolution of the car and of its systems. There is obviously still a lot to do, but we are on the right track. I hope it continues like this.”

For Esteban Gutiérrez, on the other hand, it was the first test with the team and the new car: “It was fantastic to drive for the first time. Thanks a lot to the entire team for giving me this opportunity. It was great fun and requires a completely different approach to any other formula car. It’s really unique in that sense. My initial focus was on getting used to the car. After that, we did some important mechanical tests and worked on the systems. I also drove a complete race simulation. It was a great opportunity to test energy management over the full race distance.”

Between now and the first race of Season 6 in late November in Saudi Arabia, the Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E Team will be working flat out. “The time to the start of the season is getting tighter,” said Ian James, Managing Director of Mercedes-Benz Formula E Ltd. “But I am very satisfied with our progress so far and in the recent tests. The team is increasingly coming together as a unit, the processes are being perfected, and the drivers are giving good feedback, which is a great help to us in the further development of the car. There are still a lot of challenges ahead of us before our new #silverarrow contests its first race weekend at Ad Diriyah, but that’s exactly what we’re looking forward to.”

Repeat of last year’s triumph in the standout event of the VLN season: Mercedes-AMG Motorsport continued its successful run in the VLN Langstreckenmeisterschaft Nürburgring. After the one-two finish in Race 4, the performance and sports car brand from Affalterbach did it again in the fifth fixture of the 2019 VLN endurance series, the ROWE 6-hour ADAC Ruhr-Pokal. Mercedes-AMG thus gave a reprise of last year’s triumph, albeit with a different driver line-up. In 2018, it was Hubert Haupt (GER), Adam Christodoulou (GBR), Manuel Metzger (GER) and Gabriele Piana (ITA) who ended up on the top rung of the podium. This time, it was Patrick Assenheimer and Maro Engel (both GER) of BLACK FALCON Team AutoArena Motorsport. At the end of the six hours, the duo in the number 6 Mercedes-AMG GT3 were first to cross the Nürburgring finishing line. With the number 16 BLACK FALCON driven by Haupt, Christodoulou and Luca Stolz (GER) taking the runner-up spot, it was yet another one-two for Mercedes-AMG. There were also some successes outside the general classification: Piana, Mustafa Mehmet Kaya (TUR), Reinhold Renger and Stephan Rösler (both GER) in the number 155 BLACK FALCON Mercedes-AMG GT4 won the SP8T class; Rooster Rojo GetSpeed J2 #racing (second place) and BLACK FALCON Team KNUFFI (third place) also finished on the podium in their respective classes. The strong results have had consequences for the championship tables: Assenheimer, Engel and Metzger now lead the drivers’ standings in the SP9 Pro (GT3 professional) class.

Overall victory and class success in the Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia: Mercedes-AMG can look back on a successful weekend at Yeongam in South Korea. Roelof Bruins (NED) and Manuel Metzger (GER) in the number 97 Mercedes-AMG GT3 fielded by Solite Indigo #racing came out on top in the first of the two 60-minute races at the Korea International Circuit. In their second outing, the driver partnership finished fourth overall and runners-up in their class to score further valuable points towards their title challenge. Bruins further extended his lead in the drivers’ championship of the Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia with his third win of the season, while Solite Indigo #racing consolidated second place in the team standings. There were some additional class successes to report: Shane van Gisbergen (NZL) and Prince Jefri Ibrahim (MAS) of Triple Eight Race Engineering (#888) secured victory in the GT3 Pro Am class in the first race, while Frank Yu (HKN) and Richard Wee (SGP) in the number 77 Craft Bamboo #racing car came first in the GT4 class. The race weekend in South Korea was rounded off on Sunday by further successes in class: the number 199 Mercedes-AMG GT4 of Team iRace finished second in its class to earn a podium spot, as did Triple Eight Race Engineering (3rd in class) and the number 11 GTO #racing (3rd in class).

Lead in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge intact: Eric Foss and Jeff Mosing (both USA) of Murillo #racing made it onto the podium of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge. After two hours of #racing, the drivers of the number 56 Mercedes-AMG GT4 crossed the finish line at the Road America circuit in third place, a result that was enough to ensure that the performance and sports car brand from Affalterbach defended its lead in the manufacturers’ championship.

Podium finish in the British GT Championship: On the sixth weekend of the British GT Championship, Michael Broadhurst and Mark Murfitt (both GBR) made a podium appearance in their class. The two Fox Motorsport drivers in the number 77 Mercedes-AMG GT4 finished second, which puts them within striking distance of third place in the Pro-Am drivers’ standings.

In the Super GT, which was hosted by Fuji Speedway last weekend, Tatsuya Kataoka and Nobuteru Taniguchi (both JPN) of GOODSMILE #racing & TeamUKYO (#4) came home in eighth place to make it four Top Ten finishes in the last five races.

AMG triumphs at Oschersleben and Spa: The Dunlop 60 race, which was contested as part of the DMV GTC Championship weekend at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, was won by Christiaan Frankenhout (NED) and Kenneth Heyer (GER) in the number 5 Mercedes-AMG GT3 fielded by Race Art Motorsport. For Heyer, who has already topped the podium three times in the 2019 Dunlop 60, this was the start of a successful weekend: the 39-year-old took the runner-up spot in the two subsequent DMV GTC races over 30 minutes, which meant that he featured on the podium in both of the parallel events.

Mercedes-AMG Motorsport also emerged as the winner of the “Rundstrecken-Challenge Nürburgring” (Nürburgring Circuit Challenge). After two and a half hours of #racing on the legendary Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Arne Hoffmeister and Markus Sattler (both GER) in the number 351 Mercedes-AMG GT4 of Team Mathol #racing e.V. took the chequered flag first. A successful day all round was completed by a P2 finish in class for Tim Sandtler and Michael Vogeltanz (both GER) in the number 325 car entered by 10Q #racing Team.

Social Media News

#HybridPower: Ten years have passed since the first Formula 1 hybrid victory in the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix. How has hybrid technology changed in the meantime? Andy Cowell, Managing Director of Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains, explains the ongoing development of hybrid power in the highest echelon of the sport.

Watch video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=3C1-KDkGDUA