2026 Season
Drivers
Formula 1 driver
George Russell
George Russell’s natural home has always been the racetrack. The 27-year-old has lived and breathed motorsport from a very early age.
Preparing for his seventh season in Formula 1 and fourth with our Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team, he is set to lead the team into its next exciting chapter as the senior driver.
In 2017, George stormed to the GP3 Series title and became a member of the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team's Junior Programme. By claiming the 2018 Formula 2 title, George was ready to graduate to Formula 1 in 2019 with Williams.
Since 2022, George has been an integral part of the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team. In his three years with the team, there have been several stellar drives, such as his performance at the São Paulo Grand Prix 2022 and his brilliant victories in Austria and Las Vegas last year.
Formula 1 driver
Kimi Antonelli
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, commonly known by his middle name, is an Italian racing prodigy embarking on his rookie season in F1.
Kimi has been racing competitively since 2014 – quickly moving up the karting ranks, picking up titles and wins along the way.
In 2019, Kimi joined the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team's junior programme. For 2022, he moved up to single seater racing full time in both Italian and ADAC F4 with Prema.
2023, he claimed the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA) title with Prema. One year later, he won several races in Formula 2 and finished sixth overall.
Formula 1 reserve driver
Fred Vesti
Frederik, often known as Fred, Vesti retains his role as Reserve Driver for the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team for 2025.
He will race in IMSA this year, one of the world’s foremost racing series, along with contesting the legendary Le Mans 24 Hours, having competed in the European Le Mans Series last year.
Fred has been successful in numerous racing series in the past. For example, he won the Formula Regional European Championship in 2019. He was also active in Formula 3 and moved up to Formula 2 in 2022. With six wins, more than any other driver, Fred finished second in the F2 championship.
Safety Car Driver
Bernd Mayländer
Bernd Mayländer has been an integral part of Formula 1 for over 20 years. As driver of the Official FIA F1 Safety Car in the pinnacle of motorsport, Bernd has a special responsibility. In addition to Formula 1, the Swabian-born driver has been successful in numerous racing series in the past. For example, he won the legendary 24-hour race at the Nürburgring in 2000 and contested 84 DTM races for Mercedes-Benz. Bernd was also active in several formula series, one-make cups and with the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR in the FIA GT Championship.
Performance Driver
Ralf Aron
Date of birth: 21 March
Place of birth: Tallinn, Estonia
Ralf Aron started his career in formula racing: the young Estonian became Italian Formula 4 Champion and finished third in the FIA F3 World Cup in Macau. After several years away from racing, he returned to the track in 2023 and has been racing for Mercedes-AMG Motorsport ever since. In the ADAC GT Masters, he finished his first season as vice-champion and he has also celebrated success on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife with class victories in the 24h Nürburgring Qualifiers and the Nürburgring Langstrecken Series. In 2024, he took a Pro-AM victory in the GT World Challenge Asia and was part of the driver line-up for the FIA GT World Cup in Macau.
Performance Driver
Lucas Auer
Date of birth: 11 September
Place of birth: St. Johann/Tyrol, Austria
Lucas Auer's career path in motorsport began in karting and formula racing. In 2015, he found his motorsport home when he competed in his first DTM races for Mercedes-AMG Motorsport. Since then, he has completed over 160 races in the DTM and celebrated eleven victories, six of them with the Mercedes-AMG GT3. In 2022 and 2025, he finished runner-up in the prestigious series. He is also successful in other international racing series, such as the GT World Challenge Europe, where he won both the Sprint Cup and the overall drivers' title together with Maro Engel in 2024. 2025, he became runner-up champion in the overall and Endurance Cup standings.
Performance Driver
Philip Ellis
Date of birth: 9 October
Place of birth: Munich, Germany
Philip Ellis made the leap into international GT racing via junior formula racing. He proved his potential in the ADAC GT Masters and in endurance races. After two class podiums in the 24-hour races at the Nürburgring and Spa-Francorchamps, he achieved a historic success in the IMSA racing series in 2021: in the legendary Rolex 24 At Daytona, he celebrated the maiden win for Mercedes-AMG Motorsport in the endurance racing classic with the Mercedes-AMG GT3. In 2024, he repeated this success and also won the GTD drivers' title and the Endurance Cup of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. In 2025, he successfully defended his GTD drivers' championship.
Performance Driver
Maro Engel
Date of birth: 27 August
Place of birth: Munich, Germany
Maro Engel started racing for Mercedes-AMG Motorsport in the DTM back in 2008 and is now one of the most successful GT3 drivers in the world. He has won multiple titles in the Blancpain Endurance Series / GT World Challenge Europe, most recently in 2024 with Lucas Auer. He has also celebrated victories in prestigious competitions such as the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring and in Daytona. With four victories in Macau, he holds the joint record for GT3 victories on the world-famous street circuit. He has also set several lap records, such as in Bathurst for GT3 vehicles (2:00.8819 minutes) and on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife in the Mercedes-AMG ONE (6:29.090 minutes). The Munich-born driver has also been an AMG brand ambassador since 2017.
Performance Driver
Maximilian Götz
Date of birth: 4 February
Place of birth: Ochsenfurt, Germany
Maximilian Götz's success story began early: after a successful karting career and a commitment in the Formula 3 Euro Series, the Ochsenfurt-born driver switched to GT racing in 2009. Just two years later, he secured both the drivers‘ and teams’ titles in the ADAC GT Masters. Inspired by these GT successes, he moved to the DTM with Mercedes-AMG Motorsport. In 2021, the first DTM season under GT3 regulations, Maximilian Götz was crowned drivers' champion at the season finale at the Norisring. Since then, he has been increasingly competing in international racing series such as the GT World Challenge Asia, the British GT Championship, the International GT Open and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Performance Driver
Jules Gounon
Date of birth: 31 December
Place of birth: Aubenas, France
Jules Gounon entered GT racing at an early age and secured the ADAC GT Masters championship title when he was just 22. Since 2021, Jules has celebrated one success after another with the Mercedes-AMG GT3, including victories at the Spa 24 Hours and the Kyalami 9 Hours as well as drivers' championships in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, the Intercontinental GT Challenge and the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup. His achievements on the Mount Panorama Circuit are exceptional: he scored five podium finishes in a row at the Bathurst 12 Hour, including three overall victories. He also set a new track record (1:56.605 minutes) for GT cars at the circuit in a modified Mercedes-AMG GT3. In 2025, he competed in his first full DTM season.
Performance Driver
Mikaël Grenier
Date of birth: 17 October
Place of birth: Québec, Canada
After Mikaël Grenier started his motorsport career in karting, the Canadian initially turned his attention to North American formula racing. This was followed by a move to Europe in 2016, where GT racing became an important part of his racing calendar in the years that followed. In 2022, he joined Mercedes-AMG Motorsport as a performance driver and has since celebrated successes in prestigious competitions, such as his victories in the 24 Hours of Spa and the Gulf 12 Hours or winning the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup. In 2024, he finished the Intercontinental GT Challenge season as the best Mercedes-AMG driver. The following year, he finished runner-up in the GT World Challenge America.
Performance Driver
Maxime Martin
Date of birth: 20 March
Place of birth: Uccle, Belgium
Maxime Martin has been one of the big names in international GT racing since 2009. The Belgian has added his name to the winners' lists of a wealth of high-profile races and championships. His successes include victories in the DTM, the GT World Challenge Europe, the Nürburgring Endurance Series and the ADAC GT Masters. He has also won the 24 Hours of Spa. In the 2025 season, he competed as a Mercedes-AMG Performance Driver for the first time.Among other competitions, he raced in Mercedes-AMG's inaugural season in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and took part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Performance Driver
Fabian Schiller
Date of birth: 24 May
Place of birth: Bonn, Germany
Fabian Schiller's career initially took him from karting to formula racing. After two championships in one-make cups, he finally switched to GT racing in 2017. In his first year with the Mercedes-AMG GT3, he immediately won the Silver Cup in the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup. This was followed by championship titles in the Nürburgring Endurance Series and the International GT Open. In the ADAC GT Masters, he won four races with Jules Gounon – more than any other duo. In addition, he has already scored victories and podium finishes in other highly competitive championships such as the Asian Le Mans Series and the GT World Challenge Asia.
Performance Driver
Luca Stolz
Date of birth: 29 July
Place of birth: Kirchen, Germany
After karting and formula racing, Luca Stolz made his breakthrough in GT racing when he finished third in the 2018 Nürburgring 24 Hours in a Mercedes-AMG GT3. In the same year, he won the drivers‘ and team classification in the Endurance Cup of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and took the drivers’ and team titles in the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup. Other sporting highlights of his career to date include several DTM podium finishes, two second places at the 24-hour races in Spa and at the Nürburgring as well as two victories and four podium finishes in a row at the Bathurst 12 Hour.
Junior Driver
Lin Hodenius
Date of birth: 1 August
Place of birth: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Lin Hodenius gained his first experience behind the wheel of GT racing cars at the age of 15. After competing in various European formula series in 2023 and 2024, he completed the entire 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship season with the Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 of the Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing Team Iron Lynx, securing a podium finish. He also demonstrated his potential in other series. Since 2026, the talented Dutchman has been competing as an official Mercedes-AMG Junior.
Junior Driver
Tom Kalender
Date of birth: 27 March
Place of birth: Hamm (Sieg), Germany
Tom Kalender is one of the biggest young talents in German motorsport. After successes in karting and formula racing, he completed his first year in GT racing in 2024. With the Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing Team Landgraf Motorsport, he immediately won the ADAC GT Masters title, becoming the youngest champion in the series. In the 2025 season, he competed as an official Mercedes-AMG Junior in the DTM and, at 17 years and 30 days (at the start of the season), became the youngest driver in the history of the prestigious racing series. He further achieved his first podium finish in endurance racing and his first success on the international stage with second place at the Indianapolis 8 Hour.
Junior Driver
Jayden Ojeda
Date of birth: 31 July
Place of birth: Sydney, Australia
A rising talent from Down Under, Jayden Ojeda made a name for himself in single-seater racing. After starting out in Formula Ford, he claimed the title in the 2018 Formula 4 Australian Championship. Following this success he focused on touring cars and GT racing, also competing in the highly renowned Supercars Championship. His first appearance behind the wheel of the Mercedes-AMG GT3 came in 2023, taking part in the GT World Challenge Australia. He has been competing as a Mercedes-AMG Junior Driver since 2025 and secured several GT World Challenge Asia and Australia podium finishes in his very first season.
