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Title celebrations for Mercedes in Brackley and Brixworth

13 Oct 2015

After a dramatic, suspense-filled Sunday afternoon in Sochi, in which they had to wait for confirmation of Kimi Raikkonen’s time penalty before knowing they had secured the 2015 constructors’ crown, there were scenes of celebration at Mercedes’ two UK factories on Monday.

To mark the team’s second consecutive title, drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg joined senior management at Brixworth and Brackley, passing on their congratulations and words of appreciation to colleagues at both sites.

“When I heard we'd won the title yesterday I think I was yelling louder than anyone!” said Russian race winner Hamilton. “Seeing how much effort goes into getting us to the front of the grid and having the success we've enjoyed together makes me so proud of each and every person involved.

“While we will all be getting straight back into the hard work, I hope everyone gets a chance to just take a step back for a moment and realise what we've achieved together. I know everyone at the factories will keep pushing to keep us at the front and myself and Nico will definitely be doing the same.”

Rosberg, who saw his drivers’ title hopes all but dashed in Sochi with an early mechanical failure, commented: “It's been a tough couple of days for me - but being back at the factories and seeing all my colleagues so happy after the Championship win really puts a smile back on my face. I've seen this team grow since the start of the Silver Arrows project in 2010 and the level we've got to now, all working together, is unbelievable.

“There were some really tough years at the start, but we are now the big team of Formula One - dominating the sport and breaking records along the way. When people think of F1 throughout history, it's only a handful of teams like McLaren in the 80's, Williams in the 90's and Ferrari in the 2000's that come to mind - and we are now making our own mark on that list.”

Toto Wolff, head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport, added: “Congratulations to the whole team. We've done it one more time and this championship unites everybody together - the drivers and the team in Brixworth and Brackley. From go-karting onwards, the titles that everybody talks about are the individual ones for the drivers, but this time both Nico and Lewis are winners.

“Yesterday, we let Nico down, but he has been such a fundamental part of the team from the beginning, he has helped make the team what it is and this is his championship as well. Lewis is riding the crest of the wave and having an incredible season. He has built himself into this team since 2013 and helped carry us forward with his determination and hard work. We owe them both so much.

“In our sport, we tend to move on very quickly and concentrate on the next weekend and challenge. But today, we must all take a minute and think about the words 'World Champion'. For this year, we can say we were the best in the world and that is something very special indeed. But none of us is complacent enough to think that this earns us anything for the future. If we want to call ourselves champions again, we will have to work even harder and even better for 2016.”

With 12 wins, 29 podium finishes, 14 pole positions and nine fastest laps from 2015’s 15 races to date, Mercedes-powered cars have taken 60 percent of all available world championship points thus far this season, leading 79 percent of racing laps in the process. Mercedes themselves have taken 35 percent of the points available, leading 77 percent of racing laps.