Mercedes AMG F1 could have been absent in 2014

Dieter Zetsche, the president of Daimler AG, which is the parent company of Mercedes, announced that the German manufacturer had considered leaving Formula 1 before the 2014 season.

The Mercedes team, which dominated the start of the 2014 Formula 1 season with six wins in six races and five one-twos, might not have been present due to commercial strategy considerations.

Zetsche told Sky Sports F1 on this matter that « there must be an intelligent economic decision which is of course motivated by marketing, we want to present our brand and we think there is no better place to present our brand in the marketing of our business which is engines, cars, and consequently racing. But you have to justify your expenses and ensure you get results. And for this reason, we had to discuss. »

The president of Daimler AG explains the decision to continue in Formula 1: « There was not a single person in the meeting room who was against the race, the others were in favor. But we had to discuss all aspects and make the right decision in the interests of our company’s shareholders. That’s when we came to the conclusion that we were not a company for the short term, what we do, we do for the long term. »

Committed until 2020 in Formula 1, it is sustainable development that interests them within the framework of the company. He explains that the goal of saving fuel, being efficient with very high performance, is exactly what we need to do with our production cars and we use exactly the same technical components. That’s why it makes even more sense with the new regulations than in the past.