Mercedes High Performance Powertrains has celebrated the end of an era by putting its dominant power units on display at its Brixworth base.
Reserve driver, Frederik Vesti, treated staff members to a demo run of its all-conquering 2014 machine, the W05, along with the team’s most recent creation, the W16, to bookend a dominant era for the Silver Arrows’ engine division.
Mercedes hosts ‘end of an era’ event for all-conquering power unit
Mercedes hit the ground running in the turbo hybrid era, becoming the benchmark on track as the team won seven consecutive Drivers’ titles and eight straight Constructors’ titles, with its PU having been one of the key factors behind its performance.
So much so in the 2014 season, in fact, that all four Mercedes-powered teams finished in the top six in the Constructors’ Championship.
With the turbo-hybrid era officially coming to a close at the end of 2025, Mercedes powered 10 title-winning seasons in 12 years, with McLaren’s recent success adding to the power unit’s roll of honour.
In all, the team finished with 140 wins and 150 pole positions in the 252 races this era represented, meaning a 56% win ratio spread across more than a decade, despite intense competition from the likes of Ferrari and Honda.
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With Formula 1’s power unit rules changing next season, the team placed 12 of its power units on display outdoors at its Brixworth base among its cars, as it showed appreciation to its staff for the work undertaken in this regulatory era.
Managing director of Mercedes HPP, Hywel Thomas, reflected on the journey taken with the team during this regulatory cycle, and explained the team’s excitement at what is to come in 2026, with a greater focus on electrical power alongside a 1.6-litre V6 turbo.
He said: “It’s been an incredible 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.”
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