Mercedes restructures its motorsports program with AMG
Just prior to the Formula 1 season opener and the start of numerous GT series, Mercedes-AMG is setting a new strategic course for its motorsport activities. From now on, the various involvements at the racetrack will be interconnected even more closely. For this overall interface function, the new position of ‘head of Mercedes-AMG Motorsport’ has been created and will be taken up by Christoph Sagemüller. The 33-year-old has been working in the company since 2011 and, among others, has been responsible for the marketing of the GT customer sport program, initiated in 2010 and successfully expanded since, for several years already.
With the restructuring, the connection between Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing and the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team is becoming even closer. Next to strengthening the various departments, this also reaffirms the commitment by Mercedes-AMG to its roots in motorsport. The internal structures of the Formula 1 team remain unaffected. In Affalterbach, meanwhile, activities especially in the marketing division are expanded. With Stefan Wendl as the head of Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing, it is the clear goal to further extend the globally successful customer sports program. Today, Mercedes-AMG’s Customer Racing Program ranks among the largest and most successful in the business: within one decade, over 200 customer teams achieved more than 900 class wins and 200 championship titles. With the Mercedes-AMG GT3 and the Mercedes-AMG GT4, both having proven their competitiveness in an impressive way, the aim is to further strengthen and expand the leadership claim of the performance and sports car brand from Affalterbach.
Integration of sim racing involvement and Racetrack Trainings
In line with the closer interconnection of the motorsport activities, the e-sports involvement will also be integrated into the Mercedes-AMG Motorsport portfolio and will also be increased. As a dynamic segment of growth, digital racing not only provides an additional training opportunity for racing drivers, but also an ideal platform for manufacturers and professional sim racing drivers. An environment in which Mercedes-AMG Motorsport is active already: next to the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Esports Team, established in 2018, numerous customer teams are also currently participating in high-ranking sim racing championships with the virtual Mercedes-AMG GT3 and GT4. To expand the brand’s presence in this segment that is becoming more and more professional and to address a young, performance-minded audience, the involvement of Mercedes-AMG Motorsport will be intensified here as well.
As a part of the restructuring, highly professional circuit training courses with the Mercedes-AMG GT3 and Mercedes-AMG GT4 up to qualifying for racing licenses will also be offered in close connection with the AMG Driving Academy. As an interface or even as an entry into real-world motorsport, the popular Racetrack Trainings ideally fit into the brand’s future-oriented philosophy.
A packed motorsport program for the 2021 season
Preparations for the upcoming season are already in full swing. In 2021, again, numerous Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing Teams will be participating in races and series at international level, some of them again taking part in selected events as Performance Teams with extended support from Mercedes-AMG Motorsport. The race calendar starts with the season opener of the Nürburgring Endurance Series (NLS) on 27th March while the GT World Challenge Europe gets underway at Monza in Italy three weeks later (16th-18th April). Moreover, another focus of the customer sports program is on the Intercontinental GT Challenge (IGTC), starting with the long-standing Total 24 Hours of Spa (29th July-1st August). In the ADAC GT Masters, too, strong teams and drivers will be competing for the title with the Mercedes-AMG GT3. The same can be said for the DTM, run to GT3 regulations from this season onwards. AMG can look back upon a winning tradition in the legendary touring car series.
The Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team is getting its new season underway at the Bahrain Grand Prix (26th-28th March). The team, based in Brackley in the UK, intends to defend its titles in the drivers’ and constructors’ championship this season.
Christoph Sagemüller, head of Mercedes-AMG Motorsport: “The restructuring of Mercedes-AMG’s motorsport activities is an important step towards the future in many ways: on one hand, the various departments will be working together even closer at strategical and operational level in the future, which creates synergy effects and strengthens our consistent brand presence. On the other hand, under the Mercedes-AMG Motorsport banner, future-oriented segments like for instance e-sports will be integrated more strongly and can benefit from existing structures. I am looking forward to the responsible task to guide this comprehensive process from now on and to further promote the success of Mercedes-AMG Motorsport.”
Stefan Wendl, head of Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing: “Over the past eleven years, our customer sports program has resulted into numerous international achievements and is one of the structural pillars of Mercedes-AMG’s involvement in motorsport. From the outset, it has been our philosophy to continuously expand the program and to consistently optimize it for our Customer Racing Teams and, of course, we will continue that. As a result of the closer connection to our Formula 1 colleagues, we will certainly see further synergies. We are looking forward to the cooperation and are anticipating the start of the season with a decent amount of optimism.”
