Mercedes-AMG F1 Team 2022 season launch demonstrates how team culture drives performance

Culture drives performance in business and sport - We can learn a lot in business from high performing sports team

Whether or not you are a sports enthusiast like me or even care about motorsport, there is a lot to be learned from the Mercedes F1 Team. Mercedes F1 is an organisation that has dominated its sport for the last decade.

As I watched the Mercedes F1 launch of their 2022 season last week, I could not help but notice not only the launch of an attractive new car, but a demonstration of four key values that I believe have continued to drive the culture and performance at Team Mercedes. That is a focus on culture, talent, performance and diversity. 

I’ve always been intrigued to find that these four fundamental values that drive performance in high performing sports teams are consistent with those that drive performance in business. This is true for Team Mercedes and consistent with other sporting greats like the New Zealand All Blacks, New England Patriots, New York Yankees, Real Madrid, and Australian Cricket. These teams’ success is all based on my opinion, and some could argue that their success has been short-lived. For example, Ferrari has won more constructors championships than Mercedes. However, my point is that when these high-performing teams have led through these four values, they have been successful, and it is when they drifted from any of these themes that success hasn’t ensued.

First and foremost is Talent. When you think about motorsports, it’s the drivers that first come to mind. With Sir Lewis Hamilton, who has won more races in his career than any other driver, and George Russell, one of the up-and-coming drivers, Mercedes have certainly set a high standard in this area. Yet, during the recent launch, what stood out most was the inclusion of and focus on the young drivers from their Junior Drivers program. While many teams have similar programs, only Mercedes featured this young talent so prominently in their 2022 launch. This demonstrates the importance the team place on this program. It also needs to be said that both Sir Lewis and George Russell came through this same Mercedes program.

In actuality, the focus on talent at Mercedes goes well beyond that of the drivers. Whether it’s their team principal, engineers, or the thousand people working at their Brixworth or Brackley Technology Centres, Mercedes focuses on bringing the best talent to the organisation. It should be no surprise that you rarely read about talent leaving Mercedes. The best want to be on the inside. That said, Mercedes have become the recruiting ground for other teams hoping to close the talent gap and attempt to catch Mercedes.

A focus on performance goes without saying as one of the key themes that drive performance both in sport and business. Still, there is a reason that it comes after talent. I’ve always said that it is the team that drives an organisations performance, and no one individual is bigger than the team. Not a team principal, not a driver and not a CEO. You can’t read or watch an interview from any Mercedes F1 leader without them commenting on the focus on performance at Mercedes F1. That said, what is always clear from their comments is that the strength of their people drives this performance.

After any race win, and usually, before he has even driven the car back to pit lane, you will always hear Sir Lewis congratulate the entire team for the race success. Today, one comment that really stood out during this year’s launch was from Team Principal Toto Wolff. He talked about the race in Brazil during the 2021 season when Sir Lewis was disqualified from qualifying, and it looked like the chances of his drivers’ championship was over. When Sir Lewis returned to the team room, he immediately focused the team on the constructor’s championship and kept the team focused on performing at the highest level. For those unfamiliar with F1, the drivers’ championship is the award for the driver with the most season points, while the constructor’s championship is for the team with the most points.

In organisations today, there is a rush to include diversity and inclusion statements and metrics in their latest annual report. And quite rightly so. Not only is it expected from customers and investors, but it is the right thing to do. That said, it’s rare to find an organisation that also lives and breathes this in their organisation. While it should be noted that Sir Lewis has driven this focus, using his platform as a seven-time world champion to bring focus on this initiative in F1, what is clear is that it has become ingrained in the Mercedes F1 team culture and has the full support of the entire organisation. 

This was also highlighted in this week’s launch. The team dedicated a good proportion of their launch on this topic, and again, this isn’t something being discussed by any other team. Mercedes lives this, and it goes beyond Sir Lewis, who has been the most successful black driver in a predominantly white sport. The focus on diversity goes down to the grassroots level at Mercedes. At this week’s launch, Team Mercedes showcased their drivers from their Junior Drivers Program. What was most noticeable with this young group of drivers was not only the racial diversity in this group, but it also included young Luna Fluxa, an 11-year-old girl who Mercedes is developing in what has been a male-dominated sport.

I’ve left Team Culture to last as it’s sometimes the hardest to define, often the most misunderstood and in many respects is defined at Mercedes F1 by its talent strategy, focus on performance and diversity and inclusion focus. 

As I mentioned earlier, many sports and business organisations demonstrate strength in some of these key areas. However, the key to success is to excel in all of them and to excel consistently. During the 2022 season launch, Team Principal Toto Wolff commented on more than one occasion that “there was no sense of entitlement” at Mercedes. I’ve often said that success and momentum in any organisation or team is hard to slow down. If you have ever been fortunate enough to be part of one of those teams, you would appreciate how the momentum can continue to drive team focus. That said, I’ve always believed that arrogance or complacency can be the most significant drivers of any organisation’s downfall. The moment a team or CEO starts believing in their own rhetoric and believes that success is a given without focusing on Team Culture is when a team begins to fail. 

Mr Wolff’s comment that his team has “no sense of entitlement” was a signal that under his leadership and despite his team’s success over the last decade, they will not become complacent. Through their continued focus on talent, performance, diversity, and inclusion, they plan to continue to dominate their sport. Only time will tell if this plays out as the team expects, but if history tells us anything about successful teams and business, under Toto Wolff’s leadership, Mercedes F1 is certainly set for great things ahead.

@Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team #WeLivePerformance