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Throughout its long history, '''[[Mercedes-Benz]]''' has been involved in a range of '''[[motorsport]]''' activities, including [[sportscar racing]] and [[rally racing|rallying]], and is currently active in [[Formula Three]], [[Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft|DTM]], [[V8 Supercars Australia]] and [[Formula One]].
==Early history==
[[File:Mercedes-GP-Wagen von 1914 am 1977-08-14.jpg|thumb|right|200px| 1914 [[Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft]] ''Mercedes 35 hp'' racing car]]
The two companies which were merged to form the ''Mercedes-Benz'' brand in 1926 had both already enjoyed success in the new sport of motor racing throughout their separate histories. A single Benz competed in the world's first motor race, the [[Paris–Rouen (motor race)|1894 Paris–Rouen]], where Émile Roger finished 14th in 10 hours 1 minute. The [[Mercedes Simplex]] of 1902, built by DMG, was Mercedes' first purpose built [[race car]] — much lower than their usual designs — which were similar to horse carriages; that model dominated racing for years. In 1914, just before the beginning of the [[First World War]], the DMG ''[[Mercedes 35 hp]]'' won the [[French Grand Prix]], finishing 1-2-3.<ref>The Story Of The Grand Prix [http://www.ddavid.com/formula1/story.htm Article]</ref>
[[Karl Benz]]'s company, [[Benz & Cie.]] built the "bird beaked", ''[[Blitzen Benz]]'' that set [[land speed record]]s several times, reaching {{convert|228.1|km/h|mph|1|abbr=on}} in 1911.<ref name="autospeed.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.autospeed.com/cms/A_2745/article.html|title=The Blitzen-Benz|accessdate=2007-12-03|work=autospeed.com}}</ref> That record gained that model the reputation of being faster than any other automobile — as well as any train or plane.<ref name="autospeed.com" /> They constructed many [[aerodynamically]] designed race cars.
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==Grand Prix motor racing==
===The golden ages: (1923-1931, 1934-1939)===
[[File:LangH-MB-W125-1977.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Hermann Lang at the wheel of a 1937 ''[[Mercedes-Benz W125]]'']]
[[File:Mercedes benz teardrop.jpg|thumb|right|1923 Benz ''Tropfenwagen'']]
Benz was involved in [[Grand Prix motor racing]] from 1923, when the Benz ''Tropfenwagen'' (described as having a teardrop shape) was introduced to [[motorsport]] at the [[European Grand Prix]] at [[Autodromo Nazionale Monza|Monza]]. These, the brainchild of Benz chief engineer [[Hans Nibel]], were inspired by the [[Rumpler Tropfenwagen]] and were intended to increase public acceptance of mid-engined cars.<ref>Lyons, Pete. "10 Best Ahead-of-Their-Time Machines", in ''Car and Driver'', 1/88, p.74.</ref> They resembled the later [[Auto Union]]s (also built in part by Rumpler engineers),<ref>Wise, David Burgess. "Rumpler: One Aeroplane which Never Flew", in Northey, Tom, ed. ''World of Automobiles'' (London: Orbis, 1974), Vol. 17, p.1964.</ref> and used the virtually unchanged Rumpler chassis.<ref name="Wise, p.1964">Wise, p.1964.</ref> They were fitted with a {{convert|1991|cc|cid|abbr=on}} [[Overhead camshaft|DOHC]] [[straight engine|inline]] six producing {{convert|80|hp|kW|abbr=on}}<ref name="Wise, p.1964" /> and demonstrated "impeccable roadholding" at {{convert|90|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} and above.<ref name="Wise, p.1965">Wise, p.1965.</ref>
Despite a promising start, with a fourth and a fifth (and one retirement) in their debut,<ref name="Wise, p.1965" /> they did no better in three years of Grands Prix and [[Hillclimbing|hillclimb]]ing,<ref>Wise, p.1965; Lyons, p.74.</ref> and the expected public acceptance did not materialize.<ref>Lyons, p.74.</ref> Financial difficulties led to a merger with [[Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft|Daimler]].
In the 1930s, the new joint company, [[Daimler-Benz]], with their mighty Mercedes-Benz [[Silver Arrows]], dominated [[Grand Prix motor racing|Grand Prix]] racing in Europe together with its rival, [[Auto Union]]. In fact the colour of the cars, which was later to become legendary, was unintentional - they had initially been painted white as was [[List of international auto racing colors|traditional]] for German cars, but the paint was stripped away to reduce weight.{{Citation needed|date=February 2007}} The cars set speed records up to 435 km/h (270 mph).{{Citation needed|date=February 2007}} The team was guided by the great ''Rennleiter'' (racing team manager) [[Alfred Neubauer]] until the company ceased racing at the start of WWII.
==Formula One==
{{main|Mercedes-Benz in Formula One}}
===Racing return: 1954–1955===
[[File:KlingK-MB-W196-1976.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Karl Kling at the wheel of the [[Mercedes-Benz W196|W196]] at [[Nürburgring]]]]
In 1954 Mercedes-Benz returned to what was now known as '''[[History of Formula One|Formula One racing]] ''' (a World championship having been established in 1950), using the technologically advanced [[Mercedes-Benz W196]] which was run in both open-wheeled and streamlined forms. [[Juan Manuel Fangio]], a previous champion (1951) transferred mid-season from Maserati to Mercedes-Benz for their debut at the [[French Grand Prix]] on 4 July 1954. The team had immediate success and recorded a 1-2 victory with Fangio and [[Karl Kling]], as well as the fastest lap ([[Hans Herrmann]]). Fangio went on to win three more races in 1954, winning the Championship.
The success continued into the [[1955 Formula One season|1955 season]], where the same car was used again. The team's drivers, Fangio and the young [[Stirling Moss]], won 6 of the 9 rounds between them, and finished first and second in that year's championship.
===Engine supplier only: 1994–2009===
{{Main|Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains}}
Following the [[1955 Le Mans disaster]], Mercedes-Benz withdrew from all factory-sponsored motorsport.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bolsinger |first1=Markus |last2=Becker |first2=Clauspeter |title=Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrows |publisher=MotorBooks International |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=kJ8VoUNqv2oC&lpg=PA95&dq=1955%20disaster%20mercedes%20withdrew&pg=PA95#v=onepage&q&f=false |format=Google Books |page=95 |year=2002 |isbn=3-7688-1377-0 |accessdate=2010-07-16}}</ref> Mercedes made its return to [[Formula One]] in 1994 as an engine supplier to [[Sauber]], with whom they had already enjoyed success in sportscar racing, after 1993 funding their engine partner [[Ilmor]], Mercedes and Sauber announced that the teams engines will be rebadged "Mercedes-Benz" for the 1994 season signaling Mercedes return in participation of the series for the first time since [[1955 Formula One season|1955]]. In the one year that Sauber ran Mercedes badged engines they only managed to score twelve points during their partnership.
[[File:Mika Hakkinen 1995 Britain 2.jpg|right|thumb|The 1995 [[McLaren]]-Mercedes [[McLaren MP4/10|MP4-10]] [[Formula One]] car being driven by [[Mika Häkkinen]].]]
{{F1|1995}} saw the normally aspirated Mercedes-Benz-Ilmor F1-V10 moved to the [[Woking]] based [[McLaren]] team, replacing [[Peugeot]] who moved to supplying their engines to the [[Jordan Grand Prix|Jordan team]]. In a season dominated by the [[Renault in Formula One|Renault]] powered [[Benetton B195]]s and [[Williams FW17]]s, the McLaren-Mercedes partnership produce thirty points with 2 podium finishes from [[Mika Häkkinen]]. {{F1|1996}} produced similar results to '95 with the team finishing behind the trio of Williams, Benetton and [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]], but the team still scored three times as many podium positions in comparison to the previous year. Outside Formula One, Mercedes-Benz had increased its shareholding in the Ilmor company in 1996 and took full control nine years later.{{Citation needed|date=February 2007}} They have continued to design and build engines for McLaren.
[[File:Safety Car with Sebastian Vettel 2009 Japan.jpg|left|thumb|Since {{F1|1996}}, Mercedes-Benz have supplied their cars for use as safety cars in Formula One.]]
In the opening race of the [[1997 Formula One season]], [[David Coulthard]] produced victory for McLaren and ushered in a new era of success for the [[United Kingdom|British]] based squad. Coincidentally this was the first race in which McLaren had competed with a silver livery due to [[West (cigarette)|West]] replacing [[Marlboro (cigarette)|Marlboro]], who moved to Ferrari, as title sponsor. The colour drew inevitable comparisons to the [[Silver Arrows]] of a previous era, and the nickname was applied to the McLarens.{{Citation needed|date=February 2007}} This was a significant result in F1 racing, McLaren's first victory for three seasons and the first win for Mercedes-Benz since [[Juan Manuel Fangio]]'s success at the [[1955 Italian Grand Prix]]. McLaren and Mercedes-Benz still, however, finished fourth in the Constructors' Championship behind the same three teams as the previous two seasons, but they had collected more than twice as many points in '97 as they had in '95.
With an [[Adrian Newey]] designed [[McLaren MP4/13|MP4/13]] for {{F1|1998}}, McLaren went onto win both the Drivers' Championship with Häkkinen and the Constructors' title, their first in seven years, by twenty-three points to their nearest rivals Ferrari. Häkkinen went onto win the title for the second time in succession the [[1999 Formula One season|following season]], however, the team failed to retain their Constructors' title, losing it to Ferrari by four points.
{{F1|2000}} and {{F1|2001}} saw McLaren and their drivers play second fiddle to the dominant partnership of [[Michael Schumacher]] and Ferrari, as the Italian-German partnership won nineteen of a possible thirty-four races. Häkkinen retired from Formula One before the {{F1|2002}} season, although he would later represent Mercedes in the [[Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters]] series. Fellow [[Finland|Finn]] [[Kimi Räikkönen]] replaced him. McLaren dropped down the in order in terms of Constructors' Championship position, losing its second place position to the [[BMW]]-[[Williams Grand Prix Engineering|Williams]] team, with the season still being dominated overall by Schumacher and Ferrari. For the following four years McLaren proved to be one of the fastest cars in the field but lacked in reliability, most notably in {{F1|2005}} and {{F1|2006}}; the 2006 season marked the first since 1996 in which McLaren had failed to win a race. In {{F1|2007}} McLaren's drivers finished second and third in the Drivers' Championship, only 1 point behind Champion Kimi Räikkönen. In {{F1|2008}} [[Lewis Hamilton]] won the Drivers' Championship by 1 point from Ferrari's Felipe Massa.
In 2003, this partnership was extended into the production of a Mercedes-McLaren roadcar, the [[Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren|SLR]]. Mercedes also supplies the cars to the FIA for use as [[safety car]]s and other race official roles, such as the medical car, at Formula One races.
===Return as a Constructor: 2010–present===
On November 16, 2009, it was announced that Mercedes would part ways with [[McLaren]], and instead purchase a 75% controlling stake in the [[2009 Formula One season|2009 championship-winning]] team [[Brawn GP]].<ref name="Mercedes GP">{{cite news|title=Mercedes takes over Brawn|url=http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/80174|publisher=Autosport.com|date=2009-11-16|accessdate=2009-11-16}}</ref> The team, reimagined as [[Mercedes-Benz in Formula One|Mercedes GP]], debuted at the [[2010 Bahrain Grand Prix]], with an all-German driver line-up of [[Nico Rosberg]] and [[Michael Schumacher]].
==Sportscar racing==
[[File:Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Transaxle.jpg|thumb|right|Mercedes-Benz 300SL Transaxle, the 1953 prototype used in the return to motorsports]]
It was in 1952 that Mercedes-Benz returned to racing after the war, again with Alfred Neubauer as team manager. Their small and underpowered{{Citation needed|date=February 2007}} gull-winged [[Mercedes-Benz 300SL]], won several races in 1952 including the [[24 Hours of Le Mans]], the [[Carrera Panamericana]], and did well in other important races such as the [[Mille Miglia]].
Mercedes-Benz was also dominant in [[sports car racing]] during the 1950s. The Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR was derived from the W196 Formula One car for use in the [[1955 World Sportscar Championship season]]. At Le Mans that year, a [[1955 Le Mans disaster|disaster]] occurred in which a [[Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR]] collided with another car, killing more than eighty spectators. The team went on to win the two remaining races of the season, and won the Manufacturer's championship, but it had already been planned at the beginning of that year that the company would retire its teams at the end of the 1955 season.<ref>Young, Eoin: "The Amazing Summer of '55", page 158. Haynes Publishing, 2005</ref> In fact in the aftermath of the Le Mans disaster, it would be several decades until Mercedes-Benz returned to front line motorsport.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Mercedes returned to competition through the tuning company [[Mercedes-AMG|AMG]] (later to become a Mercedes-Benz subsidiary), which entered the big [[Mercedes-Benz 300SEL 6.3]] V8 sedan in the [[Spa 24 Hours]] and the [[European Touring Car Championship]].
[[File:Sauber C9 1989.jpg|thumb|left|[[Sauber C9|Sauber/Mercedes C9]] won at the [[1989 24 Hours of Le Mans]].]]
In 1985 Mercedes-Benz returned to the [[World Sportscar Championship]] as an engine supplier for the privateer [[Sauber]] team. The first cars produced by this relationship, the [[Sauber C8]] and [[Sauber C9|C9]] were not particularly successful.
After the Sauber team parted company with their sponsor Kouros at the end of 1987, Mercedes-Benz increased their involvement with Sauber for the 1988 season to become a factory entrant under the Sauber-Mercedes name. Still using the C9 the team won 5 races but came 2nd to the TWR Jaguar team in the championship. However, 1989 was to be a different story with Sauber-Mercedes winning all but one championship race to become world champions (including coming 1st and 2nd at the [[24 Hours of Le Mans]] - all achieved with the C9. For the 1990 World Sportscar Championship season the C9 was replaced by the all-new [[Mercedes-Benz C11|C11]], while the team was renamed Mercedes-Benz (though the outfit was still run by Sauber). The team dominated the season, again winning all but one race to become world champions. Mercedes-Benz eventually withdrew from sportscar racing after a dismal 1991 season.
Mercedes-Benz returned to [[sportscar racing]] in 1997, with the [[Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR|CLK GTR]] which was entered in the new [[FIA GT Championship]] world championship series. In its first year, the CLK GTR won the championship and the drivers' championship. It would again dominate the FIA GT in 1998, and would go on to win its second championship in a row. The CLK GTR would be the last car to win the FIA GT Championship. The successor to this car, the [[Mercedes-Benz CLR|CLR]] was a spectacular failure. It was entered in the 1999 Le Mans race, but a series of accidents involving the car flipping brought about the cancellation of the CLR project and Mercedes-Benz (as a factory team) has not participated in sportscar racing since.
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In 2011, Mercedes-Benz announced that a GT3 version of the [[Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG]] would be made available for private racing teams. Beginning that year, the SLS AMG GT3 has taken numerous endurance racing wins at the [[24 Hours of Dubai]], [[24 hours of Nurburgring|24 Hours of Nürburgring]] and [[24 Hours of Spa]] and has won many other races in national and global GT3 championships.
==Touring cars==
[[File:DTM car mercedes2006.jpg|thumb|left|Mercedes AMG DTM car (2006)]]
It was intended that Mercedes-Benz would enter [[rallying]] with the [[Mercedes-Benz W201]] in the early 1980s.{{Citation needed|date=February 2007}} Yet, as [[all wheel drive]] and [[turbocharger]]s were introduced by the competition ([[Audi Quattro]]) at that time, this was cancelled. Instead the W201 ended up being used in the [[Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft|DTM]] [[touring car]] series from 1988, with the car again being prepared by AMG,{{Citation needed|date=February 2007}} who became an official partner and continue to enter the [[Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters|new DTM]] to the present day.
In 2013, Mercedes-Benz entered the [[V8 Supercars Championship]] with the [[Erebus Motorsport]] team, fielding three [[Mercedes-Benz E-Class|Mercedes-Benz E63s]] V8s in [[2013 International V8 Supercars Championship|2013]] and two in [[2014 International V8 Supercars Championship|2014]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.speedcafe.com/2013/01/08/erebus-motorsport-completes-sbr-take-over/|title=Erebus Motorsport completes SBR take over|work=Speedcafe|date=8 January 2013|accessdate=19 May 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.speedcafe.com/2014/01/06/erebus-owner-confirms-will-davison-2014/|title=Erebus owner confirms Will Davison for 2014|work=Speedcafe|date=6 January 2014|accessdate=19 May 2014}}</ref>
==Formula Three==
[[File:Red Bull Formula Three car.jpg|thumb|right|Mercedes engined F3 car (2006)]]
In the five years since Mercedes-Benz began its involvement in [[Formula Three]], it has developed into the formula's most dominant engine supplier. Its engines, which are built and serviced by H.W.A GmbH, have so far contributed to a total of four drivers' and four teams' championship titles in the [[Formula Three Euroseries]] and [[British Formula Three Championship]].
The H.W.A Mercedes-AMG M271 was based on a 1.8 litre 4-cylinder from the [[Mercedes-Benz C-Class|C-Klasse]], bored out to the regulation 2.0 litre capacity.<ref>[http://www.autosport-atlas.com/article.asp?id=17990 Mercedes develops new engine] Retrieved on January 27, 2007.</ref> Formula Three engine regulations demand a naturally aspirated, 4-stroke, 4-cylinder, production-based specification, with a capacity of not more than 2000cc.<ref>FIA Formula 3 Technical Regulations - ''Articles 5.1-5.6'' p.8-9</ref> The M271 made its competitive debut in the 2002 German Formula 3 Championship in two of Mücke Motorsport's three Dallara F302 chassis, driven by [[Markus Winkelhock]] and Marcel Lasse.<ref>[http://www.speedsportmag.de/racing/statentry.php?sprache=en&back=formula3germany&sid=70 2002 German F3 entry list] Retrieved on January 27, 2007.</ref> Winkelhock achieved Mercedes' first F3 win at the Nürburgring in August 2002.<ref>[http://www.autosport-atlas.com/article.asp?id=20124 Winkelhock wins for Mercedes] Retrieved on January 27, 2007.</ref>
In 2003, Mercedes expanded its Formula Three program by supplying three teams in the inaugural year of the [[Formula Three Euroseries|F3 Euroseries]]. Its engine powered the seven cars of Mücke Motorsport, Team Kolles, and ASM Formule 3.<ref>[http://www.autosport-atlas.com/article.asp?id=21898 Mercedes increases its attack] Retrieved on January 27, 2007.</ref> Speiss-Opel was dominant, thanks in part to [[Ryan Briscoe]] and Prema Powerteam, but Mercedes was winning by the eighth round.<ref>[http://www.speedsportmag.de/racing/statresults.php?sprache=en&back=formula3euroseries&sid=117 2003 Euroseries results] Retrieved on January 27, 2007.</ref> Its most notable win was provided by [[Christian Klien]] at [[Circuit Park Zandvoort|Zandvoort]] in the non-championship [[Masters of Formula 3|Marlboro Masters]].<ref>[http://www.autosport-atlas.com/article.asp?id=24170 Masters: Klien cleans up] Retrieved on January 27, 2007.</ref>
Between 2004 and 2006, Mercedes-powered cars have dominated the drivers' and teams' championships in the Euroseries, due in part to its close relationship with [[ART Grand Prix|ASM Formule 3]], which is one of France's most successful F3 teams. It has brought drivers' titles for [[Jamie Green]], [[Lewis Hamilton]], and [[Paul di Resta]].<ref>[http://www.speedsportmag.de/racing/csp_formula3euroseries.php?sprache=en Euroseries champions] Retrieved on January 27, 2007.</ref> 2006 also saw Mercedes' first participation in the British F3 Championship, when it partnered with [[Double R Racing|Räikkönen Robertson Racing]], co-owned by [[Kimi Räikkönen]], and two other teams.<ref>[http://www.formula3.cc/content/view/5118/2/ Mercedes confirms British F3 supply] Retrieved on January 27, 2007.</ref> Double R Racing's lead driver, [[Mike Conway]], dominated the championship.<ref>[http://forix.autosport.com/cp.php?l=0&d=46&r=462006&c=30 2006 British F3 Championship standings] Retrieved on January 27, 2007.</ref> In the [[2007 British Formula Three season|2007 British F3 season]], Mercedes now powers the majority of the Championship field.{{Citation needed|date=August 2007}}
==Other sports==
===Speed records===
On August 13–21, 1983 at the Nardo High Speed Track in southern Italy, the new compact-size W201 190 class, sporting a 16-valve engine, built by Cosworth, broke three [[Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile|FIA]] world records after running almost non-stop (only a 20-sec pit stop every 2½ hours) in a total of 201 hours, 39 minutes, and 43 seconds—completing {{Convert|50000|km|mi}} at maximum speed of {{convert|247|km/h|mph|0|abbr=on}}.{{Citation needed|date=February 2007}} It went on to become the 190E 2.3-16 touring model.
===IndyCar===
[[File:Mercedes Indycar.jpg|thumb|right|200px| Penske-Mercedes IndyCar in the [[Mercedes-Benz Museum]].]]
In 1994, [[Al Unser, Jr.]] won the [[1994 Indianapolis 500|Indianapolis 500]] with a [[Penske Racing|Penske]]-Mercedes IndyCar. Mercedes-Benz which, realizing that a loophole in the rules for production-based engines would include any [[pushrod engine]],{{Citation needed|date=February 2007}} built a very unusual purpose-built pushrod engine with a significant power advantage. This was done knowing that the "forgotten" loophole would be closed immediately after they took advantage of it,{{Citation needed|date=February 2007}} and so the engine would in fact be usable only for this single race.
Starting from 1995, Mercedes-Benz rebranded the [[Ilmor]] engines and achieved six wins in their first full season, also reaching second in the drivers championship powering [[Al Unser, Jr.]] After a dry spell in 1996, Mercedes-Benz came back in 1997 with eight wins and a second place in the championship for [[Gil de Ferran]]. However, a lack of competitive results in the following results and the [[Champ Car|CART]]/[[Indy Racing League|IRL]] split meant Mercedes gradually lost interest and the German manufacturer abandoned American racing at the end of the 2000 season, with a total of 18 wins and two vice-championships.
==See also==
*[[Silver Arrows]]
*[[Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix results]]
*[[Mercedes Grand Prix|Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team]]
*[[McLaren]]
*[[Sauber]]
*[[Force India]]
*[[Mercedes-AMG]]
*[[Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains]]
*[[Toto Wolff]]
==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
==External links==
*[http://motorsport.mercedes-benz.com/ Official website]
{{Silver Arrows}}
{{Wikipedia}}