Mercedes-Benz C 63 AMG Coupé Black Series is the new DTM Safety Car

A further highlight of the 2012 DTM season in addition to the spectacular new Mercedes-AMG C-Coupé will be the DTM Safety Car: right from the off, C 63 AMG Coupé Black Series will be providing the necessary safety for the world's most popular touring car series. With a maximum output of 380 kW (517 hp), this two-seater is the most powerful C-Class of all time. The German Touring Car Masters (DTM) gets underway at the Hockenheimring on 29 April 2012.

The Safety Car is deployed under the direction of the German Motorsport Association (DMSB), which is responsible for implementing safety measures, ensuring compliance with safety standards and discharging the attendant official sporting functions in accordance with the DTM rules. The C 63 AMG Coupé Black Series Safety Car driven by racing driver Jürgen Kastenholz (44) is intended to ensure maximum safety for racing drivers, spectators and track marshals in case of dangerous situations, such as extreme weather conditions, accidents or other incidents. In response to a radio message from the race organizers, the Safety Car enters the track and leads the DTM field around the circuit until normal racing can be resumed.

The most powerful C-Class of all time stands for spectacular design, technology transfer from the field of motorsport and driving dynamics of the very highest caliber. As such, the C 63 AMG Coupé Black Series only required modification to a few points of detail for deployment as the DTM Safety Car. The most striking feature distinguishing it from the series production version is the aerodynamically optimized light bar on the roof. Energy-efficient, fast-response LEDs in green and orange keep the DTM racing drivers informed of the current situation.

DTM Safety Car provided by Mercedes-AMG since 2000

Mercedes-AMG has been providing the Safety Car ever since the beginning of the "new" DTM in 2000, alternating with Audi from race to race – and since 2012 with BMW also. In the Formula 1 World Championship, an SLS AMG is deployed as an Official F1 Safety-Car and a C 63 AMG Estate serves as an Official F1 Medical Car.

Nico Rosberg rides home to a commanding win at the UBS Chinese GP

Nico Rosberg took a commanding victory at an action packed Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai yesterday. Starting from pole position, he took the chequered flag with a comfortable 20 second margin over his closest rival, achieving his first win in Formula One.

Nico ran a two-stop option/prime/prime strategy to win by 20.626 seconds over Jenson Button´s McLaren-Mercedes. Teammate Michael was forced to retire on lap 13 after his right front wheel was not properly attached at his first pit stop. This was Nico´s 111th Formula One start, and comes 111 years after Mercedes´ first win at the 1901 Nice Speed Weeks.

What makes this particular win special is that it’s the first win for a works Silver Arrow since the 1955 Italian Grand Prix, on 11 September in Monza - 25,671 days ago! The victory is the tenth in Formula One for a works Silver Arrow, and brings the total number of Mercedes-Benz F1 victories to 90. Mercedes-Benz powered cars filled the podium for the second time in three years at the Chinese Grand Prix.

Nico Rosberg

“This is a very special moment for me. The whole weekend went perfectly. My first pole position, now my first win in Formula One - it really is fantastic. But it´s not only this; it´s the first win for the new Silver Arrow and for this great team. That is really special for me. Thanks to everybody in the team, here in China and in our factories in Brackley and Brixworth. It makes me very proud that we have improved the car so quickly. I will never forget this race, and the last 20 laps felt as long as if I was racing in the Le Mans 24 Hours! But then crossing the line was so intense. We will enjoy this success, but our feet are still on the ground. We are still not where we want to be, we are still working hard to understand the car and the tyres in all conditions, and we will keep pushing to improve our race pace even further. We will see how that works out in Bahrain.”

Michael Schumacher

“First of all, congratulations to the whole team, to Mercedes-Benz and of course to Nico who achieved a perfect victory from start to finish. He did a great job today and yesterday, and I am happy for him. As for my race, my right front tyre got loose following my first pit stop. As I did not want to cause any bigger damage to the car, I stopped on the grass. I felt there was something wrong immediately and especially in turn three, when I put pressure on the right side of the car. Up until then I had a controlled race I´d say, keeping the others behind me and the tyres together. Of course, this was an unfortunate ending to what could have been a nice race, and I feel sorry for the guys, who always work so hard and give their best. But we all know that´s part of the game.”

Ross Brawn

“This is a truly special and historic day. I am so delighted for Nico, he has deserved to take his first victory several times, and has now done so by driving a perfectly judged race from pole position. I am excited to see how he develops now he has that win under his belt. Commiserations to Michael, who was driving a controlled race in second position, but was forced to retire after his pit stop. However, he is the first man to say that we win and lose as a team, and his performances this year prove that he is equally capable of climbing to the top step of the podium. 

Heartfelt congratulations to all our team here at the track, in Brackley and in Brixworth; they have put tremendous effort into this project, and we are now starting to see the rewards for their dedication and expertise. Finally, I must thank all our colleagues at Mercedes-Benz in Stuttgart and around the world - their support has been unstinting, and we are proud to deliver the first victory for a works Silver Arrow car in 57 years. I was just one year old when Juan Manuel Fangio won in Monza in 1955 - but this victory is something I will remember, and savour, for a very long time indeed!”

Norbert Haug

“What a sensational victory from Nico and our team! It was unbelievable how Nico drove and controlled the race from lap one to 56. A big thank you to everybody in Brackley, Brixworth, Stuttgart, Fellbach, Untertürkheim and Möhringen for all their relentless work and their belief in our capabilities and that we can make it. Nico´s performance was superb today, the team executed a great two-stop strategy, and Nico and his car managed the tyres very well. It was a shame for Michael, who dropped out after his first pit stop because of a problem with the right front wheel; he missed out on a possible very good podium result. It was particularly sweet to see Jenson and Lewis on the podium - Mercedes Power to the power of three!”

The 2012 FIA Formula One World Championship

The 2012 FIA Formula One World Championship is ready to flag off this weekend with the season-opening Australian Grand Prix held at the picturesque Albert Park.

Here’s some trivia on the 5.303 km street circuit located south of Melbourne city centre.

•   From 2002 - 2011, the winner of the Australian Grand Prix has gone on to become World Champion seven times
•   DRS can be used over 56% of the lap distance in qualifying, a total of 2970 metres
•   The Safety Car has been deployed in six of the last ten Australian Grands Prix on a total of 15 occasions
•   Mercedes-Benz power has won three of the last four Australian Grands Prix (2008, 2009, 2010)

With the F1 W03 tested endlessly; Michael & Nico seem ready to get into the thick of it, here’s what they had to say…

Michael Schumacher

“Finally, we can stop trying to read the tea-leaves from testing and actually go racing. Melbourne is a perfect location, and the ideal place to start the season. The city loves Formula One, the fans create a great atmosphere and obviously, as drivers, we feel that too. And because we’ve already got a buzz about what’s to come, it just makes you want to get out there and start driving. During winter testing, we completed lots of miles and built up a really complete set of data, which should put us in a good position for the first race and to develop the car even further in the right direction. We’re ready for the 2012 season to begin…”

Nico Rosberg

“I’m really looking forward to the start of the new season in Australia next weekend. I had a perfect winter break with plenty of rest, a good training camp and a successful pre-season test programme where we were able to put a lot of mileage on our F1 W03 car. So we are really ready for the first race. I always love the atmosphere in Melbourne; it’s a great city and the fans are fantastic. After all of the hard work, and all of the speculation, it will be really interesting to see where we are on Saturday afternoon after qualifying. Before heading to Australia, I will be in New Zealand for a bike training camp to help me adjust to the time difference and the climate ‘Down Under’.”

Ross Brawn, Team Principal

“The build-up to the start of a new season is always an exciting time, no matter how many times you have experienced it, and everyone at the team is looking forward to the action getting underway in Melbourne next week. We are well prepared, both at the factory and on track, as a result of our structured development and testing plan, and I am confident that we are in a good position. How this translates to our performance relative to the competition is, of course, the key question and it will be interesting to see how it all shapes out next weekend. My thanks to all of the team at Brackley and Brixworth for their hard work and dedication over the winter months and I hope we will be able to reward them with a strong season. Melbourne has always been one of the atmospheric races on the calendar, and certainly one of my favourite cities to visit, so I look forward to a good week ahead.”

Norbert Haug, Vice-President, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport

“It's only a little over 100 days since Formula One was in Brazil for the final race of the 2011 season, but now we are ready for the 2012 season to begin and to get back to what we love best: going motor racing. Starting the third season with our Silver Arrows works team, we think we are better prepared than the two years before, which indicates that our learning process is heading in the right direction. The Mercedes F1 W03 has run reliably since its first run on 16 February, completed 4,450 km during pre-season testing, and achieved an average daily testing mileage of 472 km: this equates to an average of more than one and a half Grand Prix distances during each of the nine test days. Nico and Michael are both excited about the new season and highly motivated, while our team members back at base in Brackley and Brixworth and on track are working extremely hard to deliver both performance and reliability at the opening race. The whole team has done a good job in both areas this winter. After testing, we know we have a solid basis to work from and a good platform for development. Understandably, there is much speculation about the pecking order of the new season, and finally we will get a first answer on Saturday afternoon during qualifying in Melbourne, when everybody has to put their cards on the table. Before the first race of this long season, I would like to thank all our team members who have worked so hard and with dedication during the past months, with our clear target which is making the next step in improving our performance compared to our competitors. We aim to show that we have taken this step forward as the first part of a continuous process of improvement.”