The Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team is pleased to announce a new round of investment into innovative carbon removal initiatives as part of our ambition to become one of the world’s most sustainable sports teams.

As a Formula One team racing on multiple continents, we have worked tirelessly to understand the environmental impact that we have and the role that we can play in driving change. We are reducing our race team’s emissions, targeting a 75% reduction by 2030 and setting SBTi-aligned targets for our entire supply chain to hit Net Zero by 2040, in line with our Climate Pledge Commitment.

Emissions reduction remains our primary focus, but we recognise that some sectors within our footprint may have lingering residual emissions which will require the highest quality, lasting carbon removals.

Carbon removal projects actively remove carbon from the atmosphere. Removal can be achieved through both natural and technological solutions, offering storage in a variety of locations and over a range of timeframes. In line with the recommendations of the Oxford Offsetting Principles, high quality projects with long durability and low risk of carbon being released back into the atmosphere can be used to counterbalance residual emissions in support of Net Zero strategies.

Recognising that the carbon removal market is still in its infancy, with new project types and methodologies, we have begun to invest in a blended portfolio of nature-based and permanent removal initiatives that we anticipate will help us meet our Net Zero targets in the short, medium, and long-term. We are supporting schemes operating in different geographies and at different scales to promote innovation, build confidence and help make the case for market growth. 

The first project is a carbon removal purchase, facilitated by Frontier, and is our first investment in permanent, technology-based carbon removal solutions.

To compensate a portion of our residual emissions, carbon will be permanently sequestered on our behalf, via new technologies such as direct air capture, enhanced weathering, and biomass sequestration. Upfront purchases will help to scale the most promising carbon removal start-ups by providing them with guaranteed demand and development through forward-looking commitments.

We have also made a three-year commitment to a soil carbon removal project in the UK, generating credits which will help compensate for a portion of our residual carbon emissions.

These pioneering projects, breaking ground in their respective sectors, are part of our blended approach and transition towards high-integrity removals in line with the Oxford Offsetting Principles.

Alice Ashpitel, Head of Sustainability, Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team:

"Innovation is at the heart of everything we do, both on and off the track. These new projects reflect our commitment to pioneering solutions that not only mitigate our environmental impact but also drive broader change. We’ve explored many solutions, from immediate projects to future tech, that can help us implement innovative carbon removal methods and reach our long-term climate goals. Independent experts have guided us through the process in selecting the projects that we’re announcing today. We remain committed to driving emissions reduction, and we hope our investment in innovative removals initiatives will boost their impact and help the market grow.”

Accelerating Carbon Removal Technologies with Frontier

Our agreement with Frontier will help accelerate carbon removal technologies that store carbon permanently (> 1,000 years), do not compete for arable land and have a path to being affordable at scale (< $100/ ton), even if they’re not there today.

These are crucial requirements to ensure long-term viability and we anticipate our carbon removal credits with Frontier contributing to our permanent removals as early as 2027.

Hannah Bebbington, Strategy Lead at Frontier:
“A lack of customer demand has been a huge blocker to progress in carbon removal. Purchases like that made by the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team send a clear signal to entrepreneurs and investors that the market is ready to scale up. Every business that is serious about climate needs to be doing this.”

Supporting the Adoption of Regenerative Agricultural Practices with Blaston Farm

Closer to home, we are investing in a project at Blaston Farm in Leicestershire where this initiative is set to inspire wider adoption of regenerative agricultural practices across the UK.

We are purchasing nature-based carbon removal credits from Respira International to compensate for residual carbon emissions in our footprint today. Here, we’re not just capturing carbon; we’re enhancing soil health, boosting crop productivity, nurturing biodiversity and empowering farmers with new revenue opportunities.

Our investment at Blaston Farm aligns with stringent registry standards, ensuring that each greenhouse gas reduction is precisely calculated. This pioneering project represents a new carbon accounting methodology which, alongside independent validation, will help us uphold the highest levels of credibility and trust.

Soil is the world’s largest terrestrial carbon sink, emphasising the crucial role of soil management in climate change mitigation. A shift to Regenerative Agriculture has the potential to sequester atmospheric CO₂, mitigating an estimated 5-10% of global emissions if widely adopted.

The project at Blaston Farm will demonstrate that conventional production systems are associated with soil organic carbon losses, whereas regenerative systems are recording gains.

David Wright, CEO of Ecometric:

“Our highly accurate soil organic carbon monitoring system merges direct soil measurement with AI-driven image analysis. This fusion significantly enhances the accuracy and scalability compared to conventional systems. UK corporates are now empowered to actively participate in mitigating climate change through regenerative soil management, as demonstrated by changes in carbon stock. On behalf of Respira, Indigro and Hylton Murray-Philipson, Farmer and Estate Manager at Blaston Farm, we are delighted to collaborate with the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team offering them the potential to compensate for their ongoing emissions by funding domestic sequestration and, in turn, provide performance related financial reward back to the farm to incentivise their positive change”.

The investments announced today form part of our wider sustainability strategy and commitment to reach Net Zero.

Find out more about our team’s commitment to sustainability here.

Notes:

About Frontier

Frontier is an advanced market commitment founded by Stripe, Alphabet, Shopify, Meta and McKinsey, along with support from thousands of businesses through Stripe Climate. With a pledge to purchase over $1 billion of permanent carbon removal between 2022 and 2030, Frontier aims to spur the development of carbon removal technologies by guaranteeing future demand. By sending a strong market signal to researchers, entrepreneurs and investors, Frontier is driving innovation and investment in the carbon removal sector, contributing to global efforts to combat climate change.

Offtakes are a uniquely catalytic way to buy carbon removal. A forward purchase of offtakes is a contractual agreement to purchase carbon removal at a certain price for delivery and retirement in future years. Offtakes are crucial to scaling the carbon removal market because the guaranteed multi-year demand allows suppliers to secure financing (e.g. a loan from a bank to develop the project) and expand supply capacity. If more buyers purchase offtakes, we can help create new carbon removal supply, rather than compete over what exists today.

frontierclimate.com

Our purchase via Frontier is a forward purchase delivering technology-based carbon removal solutions as soon as 2027.

About Respira International

Respira International is an impact-driven carbon finance business. Respira operates with an innovative offtake and profit share model which reinvests back into project stakeholders. Respira’s high-quality carbon credits allow corporations and financial institutions to mitigate their environmental impact. Respira channels private capital into climate solutions ensuring long-term relationships with trusted carbon project developers that enable its clients to build sustainable, climate-positive businesses and portfolios. Respira’s team combines deep and varied experience working in global financial markets with a robust understanding of carbon project development in leading international conservation organisations.

respira-international.com

About Ecometric, Blaston Farm and Indigro

Ecometric worked with the Blaston Estate to accurately measure baseline and annual field-level soil carbon stock change in support of their regenerative agriculture adoption and sustainability strategy. The owner Hylton Murray-Philpson and the agronomy team from Indigro used this quantification data to improve sustainable productivity and reduce the Estate’s carbon footprint - principally through lower inputs, the adoption of min till, and the inclusion of companion and cover crops in the rotation. Ecometric’s results evidenced that more carbon was being annually added to the soil than was being emitted by crop production, creating a climate-positive soil carbon surplus.

The Carbon Registry Regen Network independently audited the results and issued Carbon Credits for the additional carbon sequestered in the soil beyond the crop production emissions. Selling these Carbon Credits, based on measured soil carbon gains, validated the farm’s regenerative agriculture practices and created a new income stream. The powerful combination of accurate data, agronomic knowledge and performance-related financial incentive provides a pathway for British farmers to profitably transition to a climate-positive future.

Our investment is a three-year commitment to a soil carbon removal project generating credits which will help compensate for a portion of the team’s residual carbon emissions.

www.ecometric.co.uk            www.respira-international.com

Motorsport success is part of the DNA of the Mercedes-Benz brand. Two vehicles with Daimler licence engines won the first automobile competition in history 130 years ago. Mobility pioneer Gottlieb Daimler and his son Paul were among the visitors to this automobile race from Paris to Rouen on 22 July 1894. 20 years later, Paul Daimler remembered this event, which was also characterised by the competition between different drive technologies:

“A huge crowd flocks to see the unique spectacle. The racing cars, fundamentally different in shape, type and size, heavy steam cars with trailers and huge power, compete with the lightest steam tricycles, and these in turn compete with petrol cars. […] We accompanied the race in our motorcar. It was a strange spectacle to see so many fundamentally different types of vehicles competing in speed: there were the firemen of the heavy steam cars, sweating, soot covered, working hard piling on the fuel; the drivers of the small steam tricycles, constantly checking the pressure and water level in the small, artistically constructed boiler and regulating the oil firing; and in contrast, the drivers of the petrol and oil-fired vehicles sitting still on the driver’s seat, adjusting a lever now and again, as if they were driving purely for pleasure – truly a strange comparison and an absolutely unforgettable sight that will stay with me throughout my life.”
Paul Daimler, former Technical Director of Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft, in 1914

Since this long-distance race, the brand has repeatedly made motorsport history in various categories. The numerous anniversaries in 2024 also include the victory in the 1924 Targa Florio 100 years ago and the first start of the Mercedes-Benz W 25 some 90 years ago at the Nürburgring in the 1934 Eifel race – the premiere of the “Silver Arrows”.
Expanded digital motorsport archive

To mark the motorsport anniversary, the Mercedes-Benz Group Archive has comprehensively expanded, restructured and visually optimised the motorsport history section of the digital multimedia archive and research system M@RS – initially in full detail for the period from 1894 to 1955. Further additions will be made successively. In addition to the familiar categories of drivers, vehicles, races, rallies and record drives, a fourth, superordinate category “eras, racing series, championships” has been introduced as a new part of the system. Introductory texts and a classification of the relevant vehicles, drivers and successes provide an initial overview of the motorsport history of Mercedes-Benz. This makes M@RS, which has been the benchmark for archive and media databases for many years, even more user-friendly. Link: https://mercedes-benz-archive.com/go/Motorsport
Brief summary: Anniversaries from 130 years of Mercedes-Benz motorsport history

    1894 (130 years ago): On 22 July 1894, the French newspaper “Le Petit Journal” organised a race for motor vehicles for the first time. It ran over 126 kilometres from Paris to Rouen. Victory was shared by two vehicles with Daimler licence engines from Peugeot and Panhard & Levassor. This competition is regarded as the birth of motorsport.
    1899 (125 years ago): From 21 to 25 March 1899, the first “Nice Week” took place, a motorsport event consisting of various competitions with international appeal. On the Nice–Colomars–Tourrettes–Magagnosc–Nice tour, Wilhelm Bauer won the two-seater class and Wilhelm Werner the four-seater class. Both started with a Daimler “Phoenix” 12 hp. Two years later, the Mercedes 35 hp would dominate the 1901 Nice Week – the first Mercedes ever and the first modern car.
    1904 (120 years ago): Thanks to Camille Jenatzy’s outstanding victory in the 1903 Gordon Bennett race with a Mercedes-Simplex 60 hp, Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft brought the prestigious race to Germany for 1904. This first major motor race in this country took place on a circuit in the Taunus. In order to maximise its chances of victory, the brand started with two white-painted Mercedes 90 hp racing cars for Germany and three identical vehicles in black and yellow paintwork for Austria. Mercedes came in 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 11th.
    1914 (110 years ago): Mercedes won the French Grand Prix in Lyon on 4 July 1914 with a one-two-three victory. Christian Lautenschlager crossed the finish line in first place, followed by Louis Wagner and Otto Salzer – all in Mercedes 115 hp Grand Prix racing cars with a 4.5-litre four-cylinder engine with four-valve technology.
    1924 (100 years ago): Christian Werner won the gruelling road race for the Targa Florio and the Coppa Florio 1924 in Sicily with the Mercedes 2-litre racing car with supercharged engine. Mercedes-Benz Classic is celebrating the anniversary in 2024 with the recommissioning of an original 1924 racing car after extensive restoration.
    1934 (90 years ago): The new Mercedes-Benz W 25 750-kilogram formula racing cars made their debut in the Eifel race at the Nürburgring on 3 June 1934. Manfred von Brauchitsch won the race.
    1954 (70 years ago): Mercedes-Benz entered the new W 196 R racing car in Formula One for the first time in the French Grand Prix on 4 July 1954 in Reims. Juan Manuel Fangio won, followed by Karl Kling. Fangio became Formula One World Champion with the new Silver Arrow in 1954 and 1955.
    1964 (60 years ago): A one-two-three victory in the Argentine Grand Prix for touring cars from 28 October to 7 November 1964 was the fourth success in a row for Mercedes-Benz in the endurance competition. Eugen Böhringer and Klaus Kaiser won the 4,779.6-kilometre race with many full-throttle passages ahead of Dieter Glemser and Martin Braungart as well as Ewy von Korff-Rosqvist and Eva-Maria Falk – all in Mercedes-Benz 300 SE rally cars (W 112). In the summer of the same year, Robert Crevits and Georges Gosselin also won the 24-hour race at Spa-Francorchamps from 25 to 26 July 1964 in a 300 SE.
    1984 (40 years ago): The new Nürburgring opened on 12 May 1984 with a race of 20 champions with 20 identical Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.3-16 cars. Ayrton Senna, still unknown at the time, won ahead of Niki Lauda and Carlos Reutemann.
    1994 (30 years ago): In the Penske-Mercedes PC-23 IndyCar, Al Unser Jr. won the Indianapolis 500-mile race on 29 May 1994. The 3.4-litre V8 500I engine from Mercedes-Benz, which was developed in strict secrecy and was vastly superior, was decisive for the spectacular victory. Due to a subsequent change in the regulations, this was the only race outing for the engine.
    1994 (30 years ago): Mercedes-Benz returned to Formula One in 1994, initially as a partner of Peter Sauber’s Swiss team. Ilmor developed the Mercedes-Benz engines in Brixworth, Great Britain.
    1994 (30 years ago): Klaus Ludwig became champion in the German Touring Car Championship DTM for the third time in the 1994 season with the AMG-Mercedes C-Class.
    1999 (25 years ago): Mika Häkkinen became Formula One World Champion with McLaren-Mercedes for the second time in a row in 1999. In the final race of the season, the Japanese Grand Prix on 31 October 1999, Häkkinen secured the title in the McLaren-Mercedes MP4/14.
    2014 (10 years ago): The Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 works team, founded in 2010, won its first double world championship in 2014 with the drivers’ title for Lewis Hamilton and the constructors’ title. This was the start of a run of success for the Silver Arrows with eight constructors’ titles and seven drivers’ titles in a row.

Mercedes-Benz Auto Finance Ltd. (MBAFC), part of the Mercedes-Benz Mobility group division, successfully issued its first Green Auto Loan Asset-Backed-Security (ABS) in July 2024 in the Chinese Interbank Bond Market. The Class A Notes have a size of RMB765 million (€100 million), with an oversubscription of three times, a weighted average life of 1.42 years and a coupon rate of 1.87%. The issuance was arranged by China Merchants Securities, BNP Paribas (China) Limited, Bank of China and Standard Chartered Bank (China) Limited. It is Mercedes-Benz’s first Green ABS worldwide and Mercedes-Benz is the first foreign automotive company which issued a Green Asset-Backed-Security in China.

"In line with our Ambition 2039, we continue to expand our green finance strategy. With this Green ABS, we are offering investors in the Chinese capital market another green financial investment. In 2022 and 2023, we had already successfully issued Green Panda Bonds.”
Steffen Hoffmann, Head of Treasury and Investor Relations of Mercedes-Benz Group AG

The issuance of the Green Auto Loan ABS is in line with the double-green approach of China’s domestic Green Bond standards for Finance Companies. The collateral pool consists of auto loans with Battery Electric Vehicles and the proceeds will be used to fund new auto loan contracts with Battery Electric Vehicles with MBAFC customers in the upcoming months.

 “With our product range we offer customers a comfortable entry into the electric era. The securitization of our customer receivables for electric vehicles demonstrates how much our financing products already support the sales of Mercedes-Benz electric vehicles."
Franz Reiner, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Mobility
About Mercedes-Benz ABS activities in China

Since March 2016, Mercedes-Benz Auto Finance Ltd. (MBAFC) has issued under its Silver Arrow China Loan (SACL) platform 17 transactions with a total amount of around RMB114 billion (€14 billion). Acting as both originator and servicer MBAFC ensures that the ABS notes are backed by a pool of high-quality auto loans.

Former Mercedes-Benz works racing driver Ewy Rosqvist has died aged 94 on 4 July 2024. “Mercedes-Benz will always remember this extraordinary woman and her achievements and honour her memory,” says Marcus Breitschwerdt, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Heritage GmbH. “She has done a lot for motorsport – and at the same time she shaped the image of women in motorsport, especially as an overall winner against the strongest of her time.”

The motorsport driver was born Ewy Jensson on 3 August, 1929 in Stora Herrestad (Ystad, southern Sweden). Her parents ran a farm, Ewy was the only girl among the five children. After attending agricultural school, including training in livestock farming, she studied veterinary medicine for two semesters and qualified as a veterinary assistant. In this profession, she looked after a large area with widely scattered farms. This resulted in her first contact with Mercedes-Benz: Her father bought a Type 170 S (W 136), with which the young woman covered up to 200 kilometres on narrow dirt roads every day.

She achieved better and better driving times and sharpened her driving reflexes. In her autobiography “Journey through Hell” she describes this time as follows: “After two years, I was already driving so well that in the evening, despite all my interruptions at the farms, I was usually back one and a half to two hours earlier than my colleagues.” Her marriage to motorsport enthusiast engineer Yngve Rosqvist in 1954 brought the young Swede into contact with rallying: She accompanied her husband in 1954 at the Midnight Sun Rally (Svenska Rallyt till Midnattssolen) and took the wheel for the first time: “I was allowed to drive on some intermediate stages, and I enjoyed it so much that I decided to take part in a rally as soon as possible,” the racing driver later recalled. In 1956, it then started with the Midnight Sun Rally. A few years later, she and her husband parted ways.

Ewy Rosqvist was very involved in rallying, winning the Women’s Cup at the Finnish Rally of 1,000 Lakes four times and the women’s classification at numerous other rallies throughout Europe. In 1959, she won the European Women’s Cup in a Volvo ahead of Pat Moss, the sister of Stirling Moss. She received the trophy in January 1960 at the award ceremony of the Monte Carlo Rally presented by Princess Grace Patricia of Monaco. Ewy Rosqvist also won this trophy in 1960 and 1961. She also picked up the women’s trophy in international rallying (Coupe des Dames) in 1959 and 1961.

Her successful commitment to rally driving as a private passion could no longer be combined with her working life in the long run. So in 1960, Ewy Rosqvist accepted a contract as a works driver for Volvo. Two years later, Mercedes-Benz brought the successful rally driver to the Stuttgart works racing team together with her co-driver Ursula Wirth. Rosqvist and Wirth set off for the first time in the four-day Svenska Rallyt till Midnattssolen (12 to 16 June 1962) in a Mercedes-Benz 220 SE and secured the women’s cup. This was followed by 6th place at the 22nd Rajd Polski (2 to 6 June 1962) and 12th place in the Liège–Sofia–Liège Rally (29 August to 3 September 1962). At the “Coupe des Dames” at the Rally of the 1,000 Lakes (17 to 19 August 1962), which runs around 2,000 kilometres across Finland, the women’s team Rosqvist/Wirth stands at the top of the podium before the duo finally wins the Argentinian Touring Car Grand Prix (25 October to 4 November 1962). Ewy Rosqvist manages to finish each stage in the best time. In addition, she increased the average speed compared to the previous year’s winning team (Walter Schock and Manfred Schiek, also in a Mercedes-Benz 220 SE) from 121.234 km/h to 126.872 km/h.

In the years that followed, Ewy Rosqvist continued to secure excellent positions in renowned rallies and endurance races. In 1963, this included 16th place in the overall standings and winning the women’s cup at the Monte Carlo Rally, 12th place at the 11th International Rally Acropolis, class victory up to 2,500 cc in the six-hour race at the Nürburgring (with Ursula Wirth and Eberhard Mahle) as well as 3rd place at the Argentinian Touring Car Grand Prix behind their teammates Eugen Böhringer and Klaus Kaiser as well as Dieter Glemser and Martin Braungart, each in 300 SE (W 112).

In 1964, Ewy Rosqvist, together with Eva-Maria Falk, won the class up to 2,500 cubic centimetres at the Monte Carlo Rally, took the 5th place in the Monte Carlo Rally. Place in the Acropolis International Rally and secures 3rd place in the Spa–Sofia–Liège Rally. The successful Swedish driver finally ended her active career at the 1964 Argentinian Touring Car Grand Prix, which she finished in 3rd place with Eva-Maria Falk. In June of the same year, Ewy Rosqvist married the then Director of Motorsport Activities at Mercedes-Benz, Baron Alexander von Korff, in the chapel of the old castle in Stuttgart.

After the death of her husband in 1977, Baroness Ewy von Korff-Rosqvist lived in Stuttgart for a few more years. She later returned to Stockholm, but always remained closely associated with the brand, also as a brand ambassador for Mercedes-Benz Classic. In 2019, she reports on her victory at the Argentinian Touring Car Grand Prix in 1962 in a short film clip. “Ewy Rosqvist: An Unexpected Champion” which can be accessed via the Mercedes-Benz USA YouTube channel: Ewy Rosqvist: An Unexpected Champion – YouTube.

George Russell

What a feeling! At the start of this year, we couldn’t have even dreamt of being on pole position at Silverstone. Having three Brits in the top-three is absolutely mega too. The crowd has been incredible, and they give us all so much energy. Having myself, Lewis, and Lando (Norris) at the front of the grid just shows that!

The car at the moment feels so good. It came alive in Qualifying, and it was an absolute joy to drive around this amazing circuit. We are riding a wave at the moment, but our eyes are on tomorrow. We’ve got a race to win, and we know that the McLaren of Lando will be pushing us incredibly hard. Max (Verstappen) will also be in the fight, but I am so excited right now. We can’t wait for the race tomorrow.
Lewis Hamilton

Having three Brits at the front of the grid for the British Grand Prix is incredible. A huge congratulations to George, he did such a great job to take pole position. We didn’t expect to be on the front-row this weekend. This result is therefore huge for us as a team. The car felt fantastic out there and everyone at Brackley and Brixworth deserves this.

It was all about getting the tyre temperatures in the right place today and then sealing the deal with a good lap. I think there was a little time left on the table which George managed to extract. I feel confident in the car for tomorrow’s race. With both myself and George on the front-row, we have an advantage in trying to keep Lando (Norris) behind. Let’s see what we can do.
Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO

That was a very good Saturday for the team. That is a front three for Mercedes-Benz power and three Brits at the front, which is special for the Silverstone crowd. That said, today doesn’t count for much. We need to do the job tomorrow and the McLaren of Lando Norris has looked incredibly quick. Keeping him behind will be a tough ask. The race tomorrow may be dictated by tyre degradation so we will have to be at our very best if we want to fight for victory.

We’ve been on a rollercoaster in recent months, and it has been difficult at times. Coming here to one of the temples of motorsport and locking out the front-row is a great reward for everyone at Brackley and Brixworth. So much work has been done in all areas to help get us into this position. We are not stopping here though. We have more developments to come, and everyone is continuing to push incredibly hard.
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

That was a great qualifying session for the team and drivers. It's been a while since we've had both cars on the front row, and this is a testament to the hard work and determination from everyone in the team.

In FP3, it felt like we had good pace in the wet. That running was useful as there's still a chance that we'll see more rain tomorrow. We felt we were missing a bit of speed on the Soft tyre yesterday, but the overnight setup work seems to have nudged us in the right direction. The cooler conditions may also have suited our car. Turning a front row in Qualifying into a one-two for tomorrow is our objective. We're under no illusion that with Lando (Norris) and Max (Verstappen) behind us, that will be a difficult task. We've enjoyed great support from the Silverstone crowd so far this weekend and we'll do everything we can to give them something to celebrate tomorrow.