The challenge Russell shares with a Mercedes F1 legend

Mercedes is Formula 1’s third most successful team in terms of race wins. It reaches that placing despite having only run 12 drivers in world championship races. That's significant proof of just how intensely successful the manufacturer has been in the two periods it has entered F1 as a works operation – to say nothing of its ultra-successful stints in pre-Second World War grand prix racing and as an engine supplier.

Of those 12 aces, three have been British (including newcomer George Russell’s 2020 one-off). That’s a considerable chunk – while another Briton, Dick Seaman, must be added to the list of British drivers that achieved Silver Arrows success. That moniker returns to action in 2022, with the W13 taking Mercedes’ traditional colours. The all-black livery the team used for the last two years has been removed – its point tremendously well made.