Preview: Chinese Grand Prix, Shanghai

 

Returning to China is an important moment for the sport. As the world’s largest automotive market and second biggest economy, China is crucial to the sport’s global footprint. The growth of F1 in recent years has been positive and China is a key market in which to continue this progress. We are looking forward to racing in Shanghai for the first time in five years and bringing F1 back to the Chinese fans. With a sell-out crowd expected, I am sure it will be a fantastic event.

It will be an interesting weekend on track. With new cars, new tyres, and changes to the track surface since we last raced in China, there will be plenty of unknowns. We have the first Sprint weekend of the year too and that brings its own challenges. The changes to the format, including a second parc fermé, will be an improvement to the rhythm of the weekend – and the single hour of practice still puts pressure on to make correct decisions with imperfect information. We are looking forward to that test, though.

The headline results didn’t necessarily show it, but we made solid progress with our car in Japan. We are looking forward to building on that this weekend.

Fact File: Chinese Grand Prix

• The Chinese Grand Prix returns to the calendar for the first time since 2019 this year, having first appeared on the F1 calendar in 2004.
• That 2019 race was also F1000, the 1000^th race since the inception of the sport in 1950.
• The 5.451km layout features 16 turns (nine right, seven left). The racing lap record from the first race in 2004 still stands today, set by Michael Schumacher.
• Shanghai International Circuit holds special memories for our team too, having been the site of our first win since returning to the sport in 2010 when Nico Rosberg triumphed in 2012.
• In 2005, the circuit hosted the season finale for the one and only time.
• Having originally taken place towards the end of the F1 calendar, the race moved to a more permanent slot in the early stages of the season from 2009.
• The first seven events were all won by different drivers.
• Lewis Hamilton is the most successful driver at the track, triumphing six times to date between 2008 and 2019.
• Shanghai will also host the first F1 Sprint weekend of 2024.
• In a change from 2023, Friday will now consist of FP1 and Sprint qualifying. The F1 Sprint race will follow on Saturday morning, before Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday afternoon.
• This is the first year that ground effect cars (introduced in 2022) will have raced at the Shanghai International Circuit.
• As the circuit is built on swampland, the risk of earth movement below ground is increased, so steps have been taken to grind down and reseal areas of concern on the track to make it less bumpy.

Mercedes-Benz First Quarter Sales Statistics, 2024

 

Mercedes-Benz E-Class AMG line; exterior: verde silver; interior: Nappa leather neva grey/black, light silver metallic mixed fabric centre console
 

• Mercedes-Benz Cars: Q1 sales reached 463,000 units; good start in the U.S.; solid performance in Europe; model changeover in Asia; strong sales of plug-in hybrids
• Supply chain bottlenecks constrained Q1 sales of passenger cars
• Mercedes-Benz Vans: strong first quarter sales reached 105,400 units

Mercedes-Benz Group sold 568,400 (-6%) cars and vans in the first quarter. Mercedes-Benz Cars saw sales rise in the United States (+3%), and a solid performance in Europe, particularly in the UK (+43%) and France (+35%) while sales in Asia were influenced by model changes and supply-chain constraints. Mercedes-Benz Vans delivered a strong performance thanks to rising sales in China (+27%) and United States (+15%).

Mercedes-Benz Cars

“Our customers can look forward to an exciting year 2024 with a series of fantastic new product launches in 2024, particularly in the Top-End segment.

One of the highlights is just around the corner with the long-awaited world premiere of the all-new electric G at Auto China in Beijing in two weeks.”
Britta Seeger, Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG. Marketing & Sales

Mercedes-Benz Cars sales reached 463,000 units (-8%) in the first quarter, with solid results in all regions except Asia where model change effects and supply chain bottlenecks had a strong temporary impact on Q1 sales. The sales decline in China was mainly driven by the ongoing ramp-up of its top-selling E-Class long-wheelbase model which is expected to see sales accelerate in the upcoming quarters.

Demand for plug-in hybrid vehicles resulted in a 6% sales rise in the first three months, while global battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales of Mercedes-Benz Cars reached 47,500 units (-8%) in the first quarter, as the smart fortwo^[1] reached the end of its lifecycle (-30%). Overall, electric vehicles accounted for 10% of total Q1 Mercedes-Benz Cars sales and 19% including plug-in-hybrids.  

The availability of Top-End products was constrained during the quarter, mainly by the model changeovers of the G-Class and Mercedes-AMG derivatives of the E-Class and GLC as well as supply-chain bottlenecks. In 2024, Mercedes-Benz will present twelve Top-End vehicles, including eight Mercedes-AMG models and the world premiere of the electric G. The EQS sedan will receive an extensive update with extended range to more than 800 km, executive rear seats, and the upright star on the front hood. The S-Class remains the undisputed leader in its segment in all key regions.

Q1 sales in the Core segment increased by 8%, driven by strong growth of the GLC as parts availability for the model increased. The availability of parts is expected to further improve in the upcoming months.

In China, the ramp-up of the locally produced long-wheelbase E-Class is on track, while sales for the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class remain strong (+13%) and Mercedes-Benz continues to be first choice among customers in the segment priced over 1 million RMB.

In Germany, Mercedes-Benz remains market leader in the premium segment in Q1. However, consumer demand for BEVs slowed following the abrupt end of a tax incentive.

In the U.S. market, sales went up 3% driven by an improved availability of the GLC.

Mercedes-Benz Cars continues transforming the car buying experience for its customers. As the 11th country, Mercedes-Benz Thailand implemented the direct sales model in February 2024.

Sales overview       Q1 2024 Q1 2023 Change in %   Mercedes-Benz Group 568,400 602,400 -6%   -    thereof BEVs 50,500 55,200 -9%             Mercedes-Benz Cars  463,000 503,500 -8%   -        thereof BEVs  47,500 51,600 -8%   -        thereof xEVs 90,200 91,700 -2%             Mercedes-Benz Cars sales by segments*         Top-End  66,600 91,800 -27%   Core  267,700 248,400 +8%   Entry  128,800 163,300 -21%             Mercedes-Benz Cars sales by regions and markets         Europe**  160,200  163,900 -2%   -        thereof Germany  50,400  60,500 -17%   Asia  210,700  247,700 -15%   -        thereof China  168,900  191,000 -12%   North America***  74,000  75,100 -1%   -        thereof U.S.  66,600  64,500 +3%   Rest of World  18,000  16,800 +7%   *Top-End: Mercedes-AMG, Mercedes-Maybach, G-Class, S-Class, GLS, EQS and EQS SUV *Core: All derivatives from C- and E-Class, incl. EQC, EQE and EQE SUV  *Entry: All derivatives from A- and B-Class incl. EQA, EQB and smart  ** Europe: European Union, United Kingdom, Switzerland and Norway  *** North America: USA, Canada and Mexico  All figures rounded. Preliminary figures subject to change pending final reports.

Essen Techno Classica Recap, 2024

 Over the course of the last few months, we brought to you a variety of international events and shows of interest. If your budget or time constraints limit you to just one show to go to, go visit the pinnacle of them all, the German Techno Classica. Held in Essen close to Cologne for 35 years since 1989, the Techno Classica has always been the largest and most impressive of them all. 2024's event ended just a couple days ago. Here's why you should go in 2025.

This year 1,100 exhibitors were showing 2,700 cars — around 2,000 of them for sale — to almost 190,000 visitors from over 40 nations. Eight halls and two outdoor areas covering close to 1.3-million sq.ft. – do you need more info? But why would this matter to Porsche fans like you? Just like with any other object of desire, the homeland, the land of its inception and creation, also has the biggest variety of cars, and the largest number of suppliers, tuners, and accessories manufacturers in the world. If you like, love, live, and breathe Porsche, TC has more variety for you than any other event in the world, promise.

By our own estimate, close to 200 cars – or about 10% of the cars for sale – appeared to be Porsches, and of course, mainly 911s. Whether it’s super early cars, current models, modified ones or one-offs, Essen did not disappoint. Dozens of dealers held unique cars for sale, with some of them being brand- or even model-specific. There were super-early 1960s short-wheelbase 911s, Carrera RSs, a variety of 1975 Turbos, air-cooled, water-cooled, and modern cars through today, but no company did more to promote and offer 911s than the aptly named EARLY911S, a German outlet based in nearby Wuppertal, just half an hour south of the show in Essen.

With almost 40 cars on display (all but two being 911s) the company did its name proud. “Our display of 39 cars is to highlight the 50th anniversary of the Porsche turbo,” explains the company’s Daniel Neumann. The cars were placed chronologically and in a circle, allowing visitors to walk the turbo timeline and see the cars from the front or the back. There were too many highlights to list them all, but some of our favorites were the 1976 930 3.0 in one-of-one color Turquoise Diamond and an interior in striking yellow-and-blue plaid; the Slate Grey 1989 slantnose 3.3-liter Turbo; the original bb “Polaroid” 911 Targa, built by Buschmann and used in the movie “Carnapping” (unfortunately not for sale); as well as two wonderful motor show cars, the 965 prototype shown at the 1990 Geneva Motor Show in Amethyst and, last but by no means least, the Paris Motor Show car from two years later, the 1992 wimbledon green Turbo 3.6 with a wonderfully quirky green interior.

This display alone would have put previous show stands by Porsche AG to shame – which is just as well as Porsche itself was no longer present with their own display in Essen. But Porsche wasn’t the outlier. Other brands from Mercedes to BMW, Opel to VW, were also absent. While experts lamented the missing manufacturers, for us this was a return to Techno Classica’s early days, where the main stands were organized by clubs and dealers. Speaking of clubs, as in previous years, Stuttgart’s club department managed a neat little display of a variety of Porsche clubs under one banner – with a bright red Porsche Diesel tractor taking center stage.

Another car that took our fancy was Swedish dealer MOTIKON’s Speed Yellow 2003 996, an ex-Porsche AG car with a later Ruf R Kompressor and 409 horsepower. Broad Arrow Private Sales had brought a wonderful 2018 935 (one of 77 ever built), a 700-hp monster in gorgeous green Jägermeister trim. Abt restorations (yes, that DTM Abt) showed off their restoration masterpiece, a 1970 Porsche 911S Coupé in Irish Green. This car was delivered new to New York in late 1969 and presented itself fully converted to EU spec with extensive photo documentation.

 

But that wasn’t everything. Techno Classica has several dozen suppliers offering any standard item and any Porsche accessory you can think of. Whether it’s the new Turkish outlet Antrim manufacturing impressive-looking interior parts like dashboards and sun visors, or veterans Classic Auto Radio Station, who had Blaupunkt and Becker radios from the 1930s to 2000 for sale, Essen is the land of milk and honey for Porsche fans. Seatbelt experts Quickfit Safety Belts from the UK appeared to do very good business supplying replacement webbing and locks for standard belts as well as four- and five-point safety harness systems.

No doubt the Porsche market is alive and thriving. Something that specialist Martin Heinze from Classic Analytics, one of Germany’s leading appraisal firms summed up nicely: “We are looking at an ever more segmented market today. Prewar cars are losing their momentum and prices are going down. High-end classics are thriving while bread-and-butter cars are having a tough time and values are sinking. The Porsche market, however, is rising on a trajectory of its own.”

Enough said.

Qualifying Results, Japanese Grand Prix, 2024

Close qualifying session sets up interesting race at Suzuka

• Lewis Hamilton qualified P7 and George Russell P9 in a tight qualifying session ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix.
• After limited running in FP2, the team was keen to complete a mixture of high fuel work and single lap running in FP3.
• George ended the session P3 with Lewis P4; it was a closely packed field hinting at what was to come in qualifying.
• After negotiating Q1 and Q2, both drivers carried two sets of the new Soft compound tyre into Q3.
• Their first push laps were competitive but unfortunately neither could improve on their second efforts as the track temperature dropped.
• That left them P7 and P9 respectively, where an improvement of just one tenth would have seen Lewis on the second row of the grid.
• Tomorrow’s race is set to be an interesting affair with numerous tyre strategies possible.
• Imagery of the day is available on our media site. All imagery is rights-free for editorial use.

  Lewis Hamilton

  Qualifying was generally a really good session. I think we’ve made some good improvements to the car and its balance so far this weekend. I was overall much happier in the car than I have been this year, although there are clear areas of improvement. We have taken steps in the right direction though. When we raced here just six months ago, we were over one second adrift and we’ve closed that gap to the front a little, and to our nearest competitors. Of course I was hoping for more and we are never going to be happy with P7, but we know our car is a work in progress.

  Tomorrow’s race will be all about tyre degradation. Our long run pace looked similar to others on Friday, so we will see if that is the case on Sunday. I think it will be very close tomorrow so I hope we can maximise all the various factors and take home some good points.

  George Russell

  It was so tight out there between ourselves, the McLarens, the Ferraris, and the Aston Martins. After FP3, we knew there would only be one tenth or two between all those cars and so it proved. If you didn’t do a great lap you would end up P9 and that is what happened with me today. I made a mistake on my final lap; it’s a little bit disappointing but that is how it goes sometimes. It isn’t the most difficult race to overtake at though, and with tyre degradation and different strategies, hopefully we can move forward tomorrow. A lot can certainly happen.

  We’ve started this season with several high-speed circuits. We know that is where our weakness is with this car, and we knew this weekend wouldn’t be our best. It is good that we are exposing these weaknesses as it gives us the understanding of the platform we are building on and adding performance to. It sets a clear direction for us to improve.

  Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO

  The headline result of P7 and P9 is not great. The positive though is that we are not too far off the second row, just one tenth or so, at a track that was one of, if not the worst, last year. We seem to have taken a step in the right direction with the car this weekend. Everyone is pushing so hard to understand more about the W15 and how we can build on the platform we have. To see progress is therefore encouraging.

  It is difficult to predict what tomorrow’s race will look like. The pack behind Red Bull is very tight so we will see what we can do. The long run data from Friday, and today’s qualifying session, shows that it could be close. We will look to maximise everything we do and the package we have to score the best result possible.

  Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

  We headed to Japan focused on trying to make the car more consistent and drivable over the weekend. Pleasingly, it looks like we've made some progress in that regard. We'd be a lot happier of course if we were a tenth quicker. That would have put us several positions higher up on the grid. The reality at the moment though is we are the wrong side of a tight bunch of cars and need to find some more performance.

  Despite that, we have halved our gap to pole position from last year and can also be encouraged by the fact that even small steps forward will move us up the grid. The red flag and rain yesterday have meant we're short of long run data, but this is a race where you can move forward if you have good pace. We will be looking to make the most of the car we have, execute our strategy well, and hopefully can finish higher up than where we are starting.

Forecast for Japanese Grand Prix, Suzuka, April 7, 2024

Disrupted Friday but positive signs on opening day of running at Suzuka

• The team returned to Japan and iconic Suzuka at an earlier time of year to usual, with spring underway and the cherry blossoms blooming.
• Cool conditions prevailed throughout with several rain showers affecting FP2.
• That led to little running in the second session of the day; Lewis getting out on track for the final few minutes on the Soft tyre and setting the second fastest time.
• Earlier in the day, the team had focused on several experiments and test items aiming to build on our learnings since Melbourne.
• That included a mix of both single lap and high fuel running. The early signs were encouraging with both drivers reporting that they were pleased with the overall balance of the W15.
• Running in FP1 was also disrupted as the Williams of Logan Sargeant crashed at turn seven, bringing out the red flags.
• Given the interrupted running, the team will be aiming to get through a busy program in FP3 tomorrow ahead of qualifying.

• George Russell

  We performed better than we expected to in FP1. That was a pleasant surprise, and the car was feeling really nice to drive. Both Lewis and I were happy with the overall balance. The W15 has been performing better when the conditions are cooler though, so that is a note of caution. Our focus today was trying several test items and experiments to make the car more consistent in variable conditions. Time will tell whether these have had the intended impact and it was frustrating that we couldn’t evaluate these further in the afternoon.

  It’s such a shame for those here and watching at home that we couldn’t do much running in FP2. I hope we can find a solution for these moments and conditions. It’s not the first time it has happened, and it won’t be the last. Looking at tomorrow, Qualifying will be interesting as it’s a clear single lap tyre. Most drivers may only have three or four sets of the Soft compound so you will have to ensure you nail each and every lap.

  Lewis Hamilton

  FP1 was a great session for us. It was the best session for us so far this year and the best the car has felt. I felt very positive and excited heading into FP2 as this is a circuit that every driver loves to drive. It was a shame not to get much running in, therefore. In the last two years here, we’ve struggled with a car that has had an inconsistent balance and has been difficult to drive. The team has done a lot of great work since Australia, and we seemed to hit the ground running today. The car was definitely in a sweeter spot. We’ve got a better baseline to start from this weekend and hopefully we can build on that.

  Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

  We've done a lot of work over the last week focused on making the car more consistent. We've seen across the first three races that we have sessions where we look strong, but when it comes to qualifying and the race, we've fallen short of our expectations. It's too early to say whether we've made the progress that we are hoping for, but it is encouraging that the drivers are happier with the feel of the car. The data also suggests that we have got the tyres in a better window. It was a shame for the fans that weather reduced the amount of running in the afternoon session, but there is plenty of opportunity to get laps in tomorrow morning. 

March 1894 -- The Benz Velocipede or "Velo" is the First Series Production Car in History

Photo from 1894 of Carl Benz (in dark suit) with his children on board a Benz Motor-Velocipede. (Photo index number in the Mercedes-Benz Classic Archives: U53459)

 

In 1894, the innovative Benz Motor-Velocipede with its lightweight construction marked a turning point for the automobile industry. “The demand for this vehicle was quite literally overwhelming. What we made was sold immediately.” This is how automobile inventor Carl Benz remembered it in an interview in 1909. All in all, some 1,200 examples of this model family of compact Benz automobiles were built at the Benz factory in Mannheim between 1894 and 1902. Known as the “Velo” for short, the model was the first series-production passenger car in history.

Benz & Cie. described the performance of the successful car as follows in 1894: “This Velocipede has an engine that can develop 1½ horsepower.” Two years later, the catalogue stated the maximum speed and driving behaviour: “The Velocipede is able to cover around 20 kilometres per hour and overcome gradients of up to 10% on good roads.” It cost 2,000 marks “complete with the finest fittings and lanterns”.

Innovation proceeded at a rapid pace. From 1896 onwards, Benz offered more powerful engines and additional equipment options. As a luxury version of the Motor-Velocipede, the Benz Comfortable came with a longer body, a third gear available at extra cost, more elaborate seat upholstery, a rear-facing child seat and a crank for easier starting. Optional extras included pneumatic tyres for better driving characteristics.

The vehicle concept was produced as the Benz Motor-Velocipede until 1900, and as the Benz Comfortable until 1902, and was continuously developed further. In particular, the power output of the horizontally installed 1-litre single-cylinder engine with vertical flywheel increased from 1.1 kW (1.5 hp) in the first Benz Velo of 1894 to 3.3 kW (4.5 hp) in the Benz Comfortable of 1902. From 1901 (2.6 kW/3.5 hp) to 1902 alone, the power output increased by an impressive 28.5 per cent.

The model family was also an export success. This is shown in the trilingual catalogue in German, English and French from 1901. In France, the “Velo” was marketed as the “Éclair” (“Lightning”). In 1895, Benz granted a licence to the British engineering company Arnold to produce the Motor-Velocipede. The “Arnold Motor Carriage” was one of the first British automobiles.

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