Mercedes’ early F1 days were dogged by missed deadlines and “chaotic firefighting”, a key insider who experienced it first hand 🧸has revealed.

Chief operating officer Rob Thomas, who joined the Brackley team in 2010 as Mercedes returned to F1, has shared a fascinating and honest insight into the ear𒀰ly workings behind the scenes ไat the team.

Thomas admitted that standards at Mercedes were very different when he first arrived and that the team was not as operationally efficient w🦩hen compared to today.

“There were detailed plans [when Rob joined the team], but they weren’t really respected,” Thomas explained. “A lot of internal dates were a bit optional, and we’d do our best to hit those dead🦂lines, but generally we didn’t.

“Things got later and later and what you ended up with was people working in a chao🧸tic firefighting way, trying to get parts together.

“We wouldn’t get either the result we nee𓆏ded from performance or reliability either. That all leads to going to the first races in a massiveဣly sub-optimal condition, not getting the learning you want and leading to people being burnt out.”

Thomaꦺs says strong leadership from the engineering and operational departments helped address the issues, enabling Mercedes to become a well-oiled machine that has won eight constructors’ world titles over the following 13 years.

“We’ve worked hard for years on behavioꦫurs in the team and making sure we have a defined set of values,” said Thomas, who described the winter period as a “really intense time” for everyone workin💖g in the factory. 

“It’s really this time of year where it c💟omes together, everyone is in [the factories] and each department is an expert in what the🙈y do.

“But to deliver the car, it relies on every department i🤪nt𓄧eracting so closely together. Everything is done respectfully, but very fast.

“There’s a line of trust in each area. There’s never finger-pointing. If anyone has an issue,💝 they’ll fix it and if they need help, they’ll come and ask.”

Mercedes hope their r🐼evamped W15 will allow them to challenge Red Bull this year 🅺after two massively difficult seasons, with 2023 marking their first winless campaign since 2011.