End of current turbo-hybrid era marked with demo run at Brixworth
- Celebrating an unprecedented run of success since 2014, the Mercedes works team came together to bid farewell to the current Power Unit specification yesterday (Tuesday).
- Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team’s Reserve Driver Fred Vesti wowed staff with two demo runs outside the Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains facility in Brixworth.
- The Dane drove both the W05 and the W16, the cars that bookended the incredible generation which saw Mercedes dominate the sport.
252 races. 140 wins. 150 pole positions. 387 podium finishes.
It has been quite an era for Mercedes since the current turbo-hybrid Power Units were introduced in 2014. The engines produced by Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains (HPP) in Brixworth, and powered by PETRONAS fuel and lubricants, have set the standard in F1 for 12 seasons; The aforementioned stats totalling the achievements of both works and customer teams a testament to that.
As the sport gets ready to enter its next exciting generation in 2026, the works team came together yesterday (Tuesday 16 December) to mark the end of this current era. The team’s Reserve Driver Fred Vesti put on a dazzling demonstration run at Brixworth in two cars: the 2014 W05 and the 2025 W16, the machines that bookended this incredible period of success.
The Dane performed a short run around the facility before delighting team members with donuts in each car. Power Units from each season were also on display with colleagues gathering for a team photo.
Hywel Thomas, Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains Managing Director, commented: “It’s been an incredibly day here at Brixworth celebrating our success in the current turbo-hybrid era we’ve been racing since 2014. We rarely have the chance to pause and reflect on what has been achieved so to do so with so many of our teammates was truly special. The stats are remarkable, and everyone involved at Brixworth, Brackley, and our colleagues at PETRONAS in Malaysia and around the world, can be rightfully proud of their contribution. This is the first time we’ve ever run an F1 car here at Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains and there couldn’t have been a more special time to do that.
“It was a brief pause today to mark the success of the past 12 years, but then right back to work as we focus on what we want to achieve ahead of 2026. It is such an exciting time as we stand on the verge of the next era in our sport. We are only a few weeks away from the new Power Unit taking to the circuit for that first track test in Barcelona and we look forward with anticipation to that moment in the way we did all the way back in 2014.
Fred Vesti, Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team Reserve Driver, added: “It has been special getting to celebrate this remarkable era of success with our teammates here at Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains. To be entrusted to drive the W05 and the W16, the two cars that bookended this era of success, was fantastic. I thoroughly enjoyed putting on a show for everyone – I even managed to fit in some donuts in the 2014 car – and I had a lot of fun. It was pretty tricky given the rainy conditions and the fact that Brixworth is not a purpose-built racetrack, but I couldn’t think of a better way to say thank you and goodbye to this current generation of Power Units!”
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