Inside the Mercedes mission control where F1 races are won or lost

By:

Luke Smith

Nov 5, 2021, 3:13 PM

Thousands of miles from the race track, an F1 team’s nerve centre shapes its drivers’ fortunes. For the US Grand Prix, Autosport was granted an exclusive peek behind the curtain at Mercedes' Race Support Room in Brackley, where the crucial number-crunching and monitoring that informs trackside decision-making is made

Subscribe to PLUS Sign in

“Radio check”.

Two simple words and a crackle on the intercoms mark the start of an important day for Mercedes. It is the Saturday of the United States Grand Prix, and final practice is about to begin at the Circuit of The Americas. Lewis Hamilton trails Max Verstappen by six points at the top of the championship, making qualifying later in the day an important session as Mercedes looks to turn the tide in the title race.

As the radio channels fire up and the final preparations are made in the Mercedes garage, 4800 miles away in Brackley a team of strategists and engineers are also getting ready for practice. They may not be physically beside their colleagues in Austin, but they are ready to play a critical role that will be decisive to the outcome of the race.

comments

Luke Smith

Twitter

Luke Smith is Autosport’s Formula 1 reporter. Luke has been working in F1 as a journalist since 2013, initially alongside a History degree at University College London. Luke served as the lead F1 writer at American broadcaster NBC Sports from 2013-17 before spending two years as the F1 Editor for Crash.net. Luke joined Autosport for the 2020 season.

Luke is also a contributor to The New York Times for its F1 special reports, and has previously worked with Al Jazeera and CNBC, as well as hosting FIA press conferences. Outside of F1, Luke is a fan of sports and music, with an ever-growing vinyl collection, and has being bitten by the running bug in recent years. He also runs a surprisingly popular blog reviewing the often-terrible media centre coffee from his F1 travels.