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Autosport Awards 2016: Paddy Lowe wins John Bolster Award

Paddy Lowe - a key architect of Mercedes' Formula 1 domination - has been honoured with a John Bolster Award at the 2016 Autosport Awards

Autosport Awards

The Autosport Awards are a series of awards presented by motor racing magazine Autosport to drivers that have achieved significant milestones each season. Some of the presentations are selected by the general public via a reader's poll.

Mercedes' executive director (technical) received the Award from legendary Williams designer Patrick Head.

Mercedes has been an unstoppable force for the past three F1 seasons, delivering Lewis Hamilton to the 2014 and '15 drivers' titles and Nico Rosberg to this year's crown.

It has taken a clean sweep of constructors' championships in that period, triumphing by a margin of close to 300 points each time, won 51 of the 59 grands prix, taken 56 of the 59 available poles and led 84% of the racing laps.

"It's a great opportunity to make an announcement that I'm not retiring," said Lowe.

"I gather there's been a bit of debate; I've been with Mercedes for 22 years now so I see no reason for that to change.

"The first point to acknowledge is the great records we've set; the great design team you've seen earlier, the pitwall team and those who exploit that car on the track. But we couldn't have done it without the drivers."

Lowe was a long-time colleague of Head's at Williams early in his career, where his achievements included the active suspension programme key to its 1992 title success, and then began a 20-year stint with McLaren during which he rose to the position of technical director.

He switched to Mercedes mid-way through 2013 and led its technical team into its ultra-successful current era.

Lowe was quizzed about Mercedes' 2017 driver plans following world champion Nico Rosberg's shock retirement, but gave little away.

"Those will be very difficult shoes to fill," he said of Rosberg.

"I'm a very logical person - so there are old blokes who may want to come back, then there are young blokes like Pascal [Wehrlein], then there are those in the middle who are all signed up - that's our range."

VIDEO - PADDY LOWE WINS JOHN BOLSTER AWARD

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