Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains Ltd

Type	Subsidiary
Founded	11 October 1983; 41 years ago (1983-10-11)
Founder	Mario Illien Paul Morgan
Headquarters	Brixworth, Northamptonshire , United Kingdom
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Markus Schäfer [de] (chairman) Hywel Thomas [ja] (managing director)
Parent	Mercedes-Benz AG

Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains (previously known as Ilmor Engineering and Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines) is a Formula One engine manufacturer, owned by Mercedes-Benz.

The company supplied Sauber during the 1994 season, McLaren from 1995 to 2014 and from 2021, Force India from 2009 to 2018, Brawn in 2009, the Mercedes factory team since 2010, Williams since 2014, Lotus in 2015, Manor Racing in 2016, Racing Point Force India in 2018, Racing Point from 2019 to 2020 and Aston Martin from 2021. Their engines have won ten Formula One Constructors' Championships and eleven Drivers' Championships. Beside those Formula One constructors, the company currently supplies road-legal engines for the Mercedes-AMG ONE sports car.

Background

A 2004 McLaren powered by the Mercedes-Ilmor 3.0 litre V10

Ilmor was founded by Mario Illien and Paul Morgan in 1983, as an independent British Formula One engine manufacturer. The company name was taken from the surnames of the founders. It originally started building engines for IndyCars with the money of IndyCar team owner and chassis manufacturer Roger Penske.

Daimler-Benz (later known as Daimler) acquired General Motors' 25% share of Ilmor in 1993. In 2002, Daimler increased its share to 55% and renamed the company Mercedes-Ilmor. In 2005, it became the sole owner of Ilmor and renamed the company first to Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines, then to Mercedes-Benz HighPerformanceEngines. In December 2011, the company was renamed to Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains along with the renaming of Mercedes GP to incorporate the Mercedes-AMG sub-brand.

At the same time, the small Special Projects part of the company, which between 2003 and 2011 had been contracted to co-develop, co-assembly, arrangement, preparation and tune up Honda's IndyCar Series engines, split away to become a separate company, owned by Mario Illien and Roger Penske. This new company, which is totally independent of Mercedes, is once again known as Ilmor Engineering Ltd.

History

Mercedes-Benz from 2010 onwards has also competed as a constructor as well as an engine maker.

In 1991, Ilmor entered Formula One as the engine supplier to the Leyton House team (formerly March). In 1992, Leyton House changed its name back to March and continued using Ilmor engines. Ilmor also delivered engines to Tyrrell Racing in that year. Powered by an Ilmor V10, March scored 3 points, and Tyrrell 8 points.

Ilmor already had a good name in F1, and so the Sauber sportscar-team and Mercedes-Benz that were planning their Formula One entrance together signed a deal with Ilmor to produce racing engines for them. However, Mercedes stepped back from the project with the engines only carrying the slogan "Concept by Mercedes-Benz" and the engines were officially called "Saubers".

However, after an unexpectedly fast performance in 1993, Sauber convinced Mercedes to enter officially in 1994. In 1994, Ilmor also supplied the new Pacific GP team of Keith Wiggins with the old 1993 spec engines. Pacific only managed to qualify seven times in thirty-two attempts, although the engine was not implicated in this poor display.

Force India was a Mercedes engine customer.

Ilmor became the Mercedes's trusted engine builder partner and assembler to McLaren in 1995 after Ilmor decided to reposition its Formula One involvement by ceasing its independent engine supply program. The partnership took its first win at the 1997 Australian Grand Prix. Mika Häkkinen picked up Drivers' Championships in 1998 and 1999, and the team won the Constructors' Championship in 1998. After a winless 2006 season, McLaren bounced back and won the Drivers' Championship in 2008 with Lewis Hamilton.

In 2001, Paul Morgan was killed whilst landing his vintage aeroplane at Sywell Aerodrome, Northamptonshire. This led to Mercedes-Benz increasing their financial involvement in Ilmor, with the company being renamed Mercedes-Ilmor Ltd.

The new Formula One regulations in 2014 saw Mercedes produce a hybrid 1.6-litre turbocharged V6 engine, which features both a kinetic energy recovery system and a heat energy recovery system. The Mercedes engine started the season with a clear advantage, with Mercedes-engined cars scoring the majority of the points. Since the introduction of the new engine formula, Mercedes-powered cars have achieved pole position in 122 out of 210 races as of the 2024 Miami Grand Prix, and have won 115 out of 210 races during this period.

In March 2020, in light of the delayed seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and working with UCL Mechanical Engineering and Institute of Healthcare Engineering, Mercedes HPP announced that they would be making breathing aids to help keep patients out of intensive care. Mercedes HPP created a device within a week. On the first day of production, Mercedes HPP manufactured 600 Continuous Positive Airway Pressure devices, with plans to increase this to 1,000 devices per day. These devices were being produced on machines that typically manufactured pistons and turbochargers for Formula 1 engines. Mercedes would go on to win the Drivers' and Constructors' championships in 2020.

Formula One engine results

Constructor	Season(s)	Total wins	WCC	WDC	First win	Last win
Sauber	1994	0			–	–
McLaren	1995–2014, 2021–2024	78	1 (1998)	3 (1998–1999, 2008)	1997 Australian Grand Prix	2024 Miami Grand Prix
Brawn	2009	8	1 (2009)	1 (2009)	2009 Australian Grand Prix	2009 Italian Grand Prix
Force India	2009–2018	0			–	–
Mercedes	2010–2024	106	8 (2014–2021)	7 (2014–2020)	2012 Chinese Grand Prix	2022 São Paulo Grand Prix
Williams	2014–2024	0			–	–
Lotus	2015	0			–	–
MRT	2016	0			–	–
Racing Point Force India	2018	0			–	–
Racing Point	2019–2020	1			2020 Sakhir Grand Prix	2020 Sakhir Grand Prix
Aston Martin	2021–2024				–	–
Total	1994–2024	193	10	11	1997 Australian Grand Prix	2024 Miami Grand Prix

List of Formula One engines and power units

See also

In Spanish: Mercedes-Benz en Fórmula 1 para niños

• Mercedes-Benz in motorsport