WHERE MERCEDES STANDS AMONG THE F1 GREATS
Mercedes is Formula 1’s thirdmost successful team in terms of victories, with 118 (at the time of writing), behind only Ferrari (238) and Mclaren (182) and has racked up nine drivers’ titles and seven constructors’ championships. Only Ferrari (31) and Mclaren (20) have a higher combined total, while the additional five titles taken with Mercedes engines by Mclaren and one by Brawn shouldn’t be overlooked.
Most of the success has come since Mercedes took over Brawn ahead of 2010. This formed the modern F1 team; the first two drivers’ titles in 1954 and 1955, with Juan Manuel Fangio driving the legendary W196, were achieved by a team based at the marque’s Stuttgart HQ.
The modern Mercedes leads the way in terms of dominance of an era. Seven consecutive drivers-and-constructors doubles from 2014 to 2020 is an unprecedented run of success – and one that was all achieved under Toto Wolff’s leadership. Having taken the lead in 2014, when F1 switched to 1.6-litre V6 turbo hybrid powerplants, the team stayed on top through the major car changes in 2017, before weathering the 2019 simplification of front wings. And it’s still winning races despite the aerodynamic tweaks that mitigated against its low-rake design last year. With F1’s biggest-ever carrule changes coming in next year, who would bet against Mercedes staying at the top?
Going spare
I bought a top-of-the-range Jaguar E-pace in April. After about a week, I was unfortunate enough to get a nail in one of its rear tyres. My wife and I went to four different tyre retailers and two Jaguar dealers yet couldn’t find a Goodyear 245/45 R21 104Y JLR. In the end, a retailer was able to repair the damaged tyre. The car didn’t come with a spare, and a runflat will only get me to a tyre shop or dealership. If they don’t hold stock, my expensive car will be off the road.
I contacted Jaguar HQ about the issue and received this response, which I thought was poor and didn’t address the issue: “Regrettably, as the manufacturer of the vehicle, we don’t hold large amounts of parts or components in stock; these are ordered as required. I fully appreciate the required Goodyear tyre wasn’t available from the JLR retailer network, but also, as you advised, local tyre specialists. Therefore, this would be a concern with Goodyear directly as the tyre manufacturer.”
So me and many others have spent a small fortune on a car for which Jaguar can’t guarantee spare tyres?
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Steyr-puch memories
I noted with interest your article about Sobieslaw Zasada (Motorsport, 9 June). I recall that he won the European Rally Championship in 1966, driving a Steyr-puch car that was based on a Fiat 500 shell and manufactured in Graz, Austria.
I was with Ryders of Liverpool at the time, and we imported the Steyr-puch Haflinger, which used an untuned version of its horizontally opposed 650cc air-cooled engine. We also imported about 27 RHD versions of the Fiat-based cars, one of which was a replica of Zasada’s. I noticed recently that one of them (registered AEM 655) was withdrawn at a Silverstone auction at £58,000.
I wish Sobieslaw every success in his current endeavours.
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