Preview: United States Grand Prix, Austin, TX, October, 2025

 

We come off the back of a strong result in Singapore, taking victory with George and P5 for Kimi. Not only was that unexpected, our level of performance across Saturday and Sunday showed it was no fluke. That has been the story of the season somewhat, where it isn't clear which team will be leading the way from weekend-to-weekend. We were also good in Azerbaijan so we are curious to see if we can maintain the step we have made with the W16 into this next run of races across the Americas. They are very different layouts and challenges to those two street circuits, so we are heading a little into the unknown, but that unpredictability is what makes our sport so enjoyable.

Austin has become an iconic F1 venue with a large and passionate crowd and a fantastic city playing host. The Circuit of the Americas, with its elevation changes, spectacular first turn, and mix of high-speed corners and slower traction zones, is a real test. Adding to that challenge is the fourth Sprint weekend of the year. That creates extra jeopardy but also more opportunity if we can get the W16 into a good place quickly.

We are also delighted to celebrate 500 races of the Mercedes-AMG Safety Car this weekend. This milestone is a testament to the company's commitment to the pinnacle of motorsport, and the longevity, technical innovation, and beauty of our cars.

Fact File: United States Grand Prix

• COTA is one of nine tracks on the 2025 F1 calendar that is fully anticlockwise, alongside Jeddah, Miami, Imola, Baku, Singapore, Interlagos, Las Vegas, and Yas Marina. 
• It is tied with Baku for the second-most corners on any F1 2025 track, with 20, behind Jeddah (27). 
• The incline from the starting grid to the apex at Turn One is 134 feet, one of the highest elevation changes on the whole f1 calendar. 
• No one has more wins at COTA than Lewis Hamilton (5). Lewis also clinched his third (2015) and sixth (2019) F1 titles at the track while with the team. 
• The team has five wins at COTA – more than any other Constructor. Lewis has four of those, while Valtteri Bottas also has one US GP win, coming in 2019. 
• For the third year in a row, the circuit will hold an F1 Sprint race on Saturday.
• In 2025, as in 2024, COTA will host the fourth of six F1 Sprint races during the season. 
• COTA has been the home of the United States Grand Prix since 2012. 
• The 2025 United States Grand Prix will be the 500^th for Mrecedes-Benz as the official Safety Car, having debuted at the 1996 Australian Grand Prix and first been deployed at the 1996 Belgium Grand prix.

The cutting-edge development of advanced sustainable fuel

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• Episode three of the PETRONAS ’Road to 2026’ technical content series explores the latest development in the use of advanced sustainable fuel being used in F1 from next season onwards.
• The full video can be viewed here, with downloadable assets including imagery here. All assets can be used rights-free.

As F1 accelerates toward a more sustainable future, the third episode of the ‘Road to 2026’ series explores the cutting-edge development of advanced sustainable fuel. This instalment highlights the collaborative efforts between the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team and PETRONAS ahead of next year’s seismic regulatory changes, as together we push the boundaries of fuel technology.

Subject matter experts from the team and PETRONAS share their perspectives on the evolution of their technical partnership, and how they are developing advanced sustainable fuel to power the next generation in the sport.

The episode features exclusive insights from with:

• Hywel Thomas, Managing Director – Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains
• Chan Ming-Yau, Principal (Fuel Technology) – PETRONAS
• Chandramalar Muthiah, Principal (Fuel Technology) – PETRONAS
• Alice Ashpitel – Head of Sustainability – Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team

Developed in close collaboration between the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team and PETRONAS, advanced sustainable fuel is derived from non-food biomass, municipal waste or renewable fuel of non-biological origin (RFNBO) and designed as a drop-in solution that aims to deliver the same, if not better performance. Matching the fuel precisely to the Power Unit ensures efficient combustion output, helping to meet the extreme demands of racing while aligning with Formula One’s sustainability ambitions.

Driving the next generation of racing, PETRONAS is formulating a fuel that delivers a smoother, more powerful and responsive drive comprising of advanced sustainable components that have been specifically engineered to meet the latest Power Unit design. This innovation is complemented by PETRONAS Syntium engine oil and PETRONAS Tutela functional fluids, tailored to manage elevated thermal loads and electrical demands while delivering peak performance under the new regulations.

The third episode, The Science of Advanced Sustainable Fuel, is available now, rights-free, across all Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team and PETRONAS digital platforms.

Mercedes-Benz Advanced Lighting Testing Center Opened: Endurance Testing on a Rough Road Track in the Heide

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• Just opened: Most advanced light testing centre with a realistic country road replica
• Robots at the wheel: Fully automated endurance testing on a demanding rough-road track
• ‘Digital twin’: All test modules can also be used digitally for preliminary simulations
• A world of testing in Immendingen: Over 30 modules across 86 kilometres of road-simulating track
• Animal helpers: Sheep prevent scrub encroachment, llamas protect the herd
• Anniversary: Ten years ago, the ground-breaking ceremony for this unique development environment took place

With the new, state-of-the-art light testing centre, designed for versatile use, Mercedes‑Benz is once again expanding the diverse testing capabilities of the Global Proving Ground Immendingen. At 135 metres long and eight metres high, the new light testing centre ranks among the largest of its kind in the automotive industry. It enables detailed testing of headlight systems under constant, reproducible conditions – independent of time of day, weather or environmental influences. 

A complete country road is authentically recreated over 135 metres. In addition, the asphalt mixture was specially developed to replicate the reflective properties of an aged road as closely as possible. Up to five cars can be tested in parallel – including the simulation of oncoming traffic or vehicles ahead. Reflector posts can be deployed at the sides of the road in 20-metre increments and pedestrian dummies can also be flexibly integrated. The investment in the light testing centre amounts to 10.5 million euros, with a construction period of two years. 

Automation meets resilience: Driverless Heide durability circuit

With its high-tech testing facilities and advanced testing methods, the Global Proving Ground Immendingen continues to set new standards across the industry. This also includes the so-called automated Heide durability circuit. In this test, driving robots steer the test vehicles completely autonomously along a rough-road track. The track’s potholes, bumps and cobblestones pose a particular challenge for the chassis and body. 

The automation of this process increases the precision of driving manoeuvres, reduces the strain on human test drivers, enables 24/7 operation and significantly accelerates testing – all while maintaining the same level of stress on the cars. Depending on the vehicle type, the test vehicles must complete up to 6,000 kilometres on this circuit, which is equivalent to 300,000 kilometres of customer driving. This means that one kilometre on the Heide durability circuit is equivalent to 150 kilometres on an extremely poor road, littered with deep potholes, among other things. The test module is named after a very challenging rough-road track in the Lüneburg Heath dating back to the 1950s. 

Consistent digitisation: more efficient, faster and more sustainable testing

As with all test modules at Immendingen, the Heide durability circuit also has a “digital twin”. The proving ground is digitally mapped down to the sub-millimeter level, and vehicles and their loads are digitally mirrored. This data is used in preliminary simulations, serves as load spectra for test benches and thus enables test results to be quickly fed back to the development departments. Today, this digital testing is so precise that often many thousands of kilometres are driven digitally before the first real test kilometre is driven on the test site. 

In concrete terms, this means that, for example, in chassis tuning for each new model series, more than 100 different variations are tested digitally. Only the most suitable variants are then installed in a prototype and tested physically in Immendingen. One of Immendingen’s greatest advantages is precisely this: almost all test requirements for real-life testing – apart from snow, ice and extreme heat – are consolidated at a single location.

“The Immendingen Test and Technology Centre is the first digitised Mercedes‑Benz proving ground – here, real and virtual vehicle testing merge seamlessly. By digitally mapping the proving ground, using automated test programmes and employing state-of-the-art sensor technology, we are making vehicle development more efficient, faster and more sustainable than ever before.” 

Singapore Grand Prix Preview 2025

Fact File: Singapore Grand Prix

• The Singapore Grand Prix first appeared on the F1 calendar in 2008 and is known as the original “F1 night race”.
• In 2023, the circuit length was reduced from 5.063 km to 4.928 km and the number of laps of the Grand Prix increased from 61 to 62. Lap times were reduced by roughly 10 seconds due to the changes.
• The new layout was beneficial for the tyres; previously, they would begin to overheat towards the end of the lap, but the removal of four 90-degrees corners helped them stay closer to the optimum operating window.
• Track evolution is incredibly high in Singapore, given that it is a street circuit. The surface can ramp up by as much as three seconds between FP1 on Friday and Qualifying on Saturday evening. 
• The Singapore Grand prix is one of the most physically demanding races of the season. The intense humidity, warm temperatures, combined with the stop/start nature of the track, make it very challenging. 
• Due to these factors, drivers can lose around 5kg of weight during the race through sweating alone. 
• That stop/start nature, with a requirement for constant re-acceleration, ensures the circuit has one of the biggest fuel effects of the year. In simple terms, that mean the amount of time you lose each lap is higher for every kilogram of extra fuel in the car.
• Owing to the large amount of time spent in corners, just over 50% of lap time is spent at full throttle – only Monaco and the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico have lower amounts. 
• The track is also very bumpy. That adds to the stress that the drivers and cars are put through – that is particularly true with these new generation cars that run lower to the ground. 
• With a speed limit of 60 km/h, and a layout that feeds in at turn two, the total pitlane time is the highest of the season at 25 seconds. 
• Marina Bay is one of two circuits on the calendar to have a 60 km/h pitlane speed limit, owing to its tight nature. The other is Monaco.
• Being a street track, it is no surprise that between 2008 and 2024 all 14 Singapore Grands Prix featured at least one Safety Car deployment. 
• The team has achieved four wins around the streets of Marina Bay. Three times with Lewis (2014, 2017, 2018) and one with Nico Rosberg (2016). 
• F1 ACADEMY will join the support bill for the second year in a row in Singapore, and this weekend could prove important for junior driver Doriane Pin as she looks to seal the 2025 title.

Doriane Pin talks Singapore

Singapore is one of the most challenging and exciting circuits on the calendar, and I can’t wait to race there. With only two more rounds to go, I will give everything to bring home the results we want.

Monteagle & the Dixie Highway – America’s Most Feared Road

General Comments on Aerodynamics at Mercedes Benz

Aerodynamics at Mercedes-Benz: the added value

• Diverse advantages in everyday driving: increased range, more comfort and safety
• Long tradition: aerodynamic bests and modern measuring equipment
• Detailed aerodynamic optimisation: the new CLA with EQ Technology

Low air resistance means high efficiency. This makes aerodynamic behaviour crucial, especially for electric vehicles. Reducing the drag coefficient by just 0.01 increases long-distance range by about 2.5 percent. Based on an annual mileage of 15,000 kilometres, corresponding aerodynamic optimisation results in an extra 375 kilometres of distance.

Mercedes-Benz recognised early on that aerodynamics are key to efficiency. Accordingly, the list of models with top aerodynamic performance is long: It initially ranges from the W 125 of 1937^[1] to the 540 K “Streamliner” of 1938 and the C111² from the 1970s to the W124 of 1984, which with a C_d of 0.29 was the first production car to fall below 0.30. More recently, the CLA of 2013 with a C_d of 0.22, the EQS with 0.20, and the current CLA with EQ Technology with a class-leading 0.21 should be mentioned. Another aero champion is the VISION EQXX from 2022. With a C_d value of 0.17, this technology platform offers the wind even less air resistance than an American football. While the focus of the VISION EQXX was on efficiency itself, the AMG GT XX was primarily about ensuring that efficiency at speeds of over 300 km/h. Thanks not least to its C_d value of 0.19 and intelligent aerodynamics, the AMG secured 25 long-distance world records on the Nardò test track in August 2025.  

Previously, and especially in racing, achievable speeds and high cornering speeds, i.e., downforce, were the focus. Today, the main focus is on energy consumption and range while maintaining Mercedes’ famous and much-loved driving characteristics. But not only in terms of air resistance, but also in the other aerodynamic disciplines of aeroacoustics, keeping the vehicle clean, and open-top driving comfort, Mercedes‑Benz models have been at the forefront for many decades. Further information on the aerodynamic sub-areas can be found here.

This is also due to the high level of development effort that the brand with the star puts into this area: The “Large Wind Tunnel” in Untertürkheim was the world's first of its kind for automobile development. The first documented measurement took place there over 80 years ago on February 5, 1943. The “Large Wind Tunnel” is still in use. In 2013, Mercedes‑Benz once again took the lead in aerodynamic testing with the aeroacoustic wind tunnel at the Sindelfingen Development Centre. Further information on the measuring equipment can be found here.

Small details, big impact: aerodynamic optimization of the CLA

As great as the added value is in everyday driving, the aerodynamic optimizations of the vehicles are just as extensive, as shown below using the current example of the all-new electric CLA. With a C_d value from 0.21, this all-electric model is one of the best in its class. Within the series, the spread is also very small. This is partly due to the wide range of aerodynamically optimised wheels. These include, for the first time, a bicolour full cover for light-alloy wheels. Compared to a conventional wheel, it performs up to 15 C_d points better; compared to an already optimised aluminium aero rim, the advantage is still up to two C_dpoints. In addition, the aerodynamicists have optimised the wheel spoilers in front of the front and rear axles in detail across all inch sizes, thus minimising the influence of the wheels and tyres on air resistance.

In the area around the radiator grille and headlights, the joints were optimally placed and partially sealed. The underbody concept of the EQS and EQE has been further developed. The very smooth underbody is almost completely closed and the spring control arms and tie rods are also covered. The rear wheel cover is fixed to the body shell, so it has no joints to the surrounding components and therefore does not move with the axle when it compresses, for example. In order to avoid any aerodynamic compromises, Mercedes‑Benz even installs two diffuser variants on the rear of the all-electric CLA: for models without and with a trailer hitch.

^[1] On January 28, 1938, the Mercedes-Benz W 125 record car set a speed world record on public roads with its drag coefficient (Cd value) of 0.17: Rudolf Caracciola reached a speed of 432.7 km/h on the A5 between Darmstadt and Frankfurt.

[2] The record-breaking C111-III had a drag coefficient of 0.183.