When McLaren and Mercedes decided to join forces in Formula 1, neither entity could imagine just how successful they would be.
In 1997, the McLaren-Mercedes F1 racers, known as the Silver Arrows, debuted and promptly took everyone by storm. David Coulthard won the first race in the 1997 season at the Australian Grand Prix. A year later, Mika Hakkinen duked it out with Ferrari’s Michael Schumacher.
Schumacher had a difficult start, with a stalled engine relegating him to the back of the pack. Despite this, he secured the fastest lap and fought through the grid. But an unfortunate puncture dashed Schumacher’s dreams. Hakkinen won the Japanese Grand Prix on November 1, 1998, and walked away with the Drivers’ Championship title.
Apart from the milestones listed above, Mercedes has had plenty of iconic moments. A 31,000-mile endurance record is one of the greatest, again showing a good balance between performance and durability.
All that remains to be seen is what more the German brand can achieve. If it were up to us, we’d ask for a return to Le Mans…
