WHY A CHAMPION ENGINEER HAS MOVED TO FORMULA E1
The case for Mercedes being the greatest Formula 1 team of all time grows stronger with each season. Since the 2014 introduction of hybrid powertrains it has swept all in its path to one side and, perhaps most impressively, continued that dominance through the regulation changes introduced for 2017. It has matched Ferrari’s record of six constructors’ titles on the bounce and is set for more.
Why, then, would you swap it all to enter the most unpredictable championship going, where there can be no guarantee of immediate success? That’s the path taken by Tony Ross, the chief race engineer of the Mercedes Formula E team.
His career began in a different field – working in the road car division at Rover – before joining Nissan Motorsport for its Primera touring car attack in 1994. A three-year stint was marred by the tragic death of Kieth O’dor at Avus in 1995 and the manufacturer’s withdrawal from the British Touring Car Championship. From there he moved across to Williams for two years as it embarked on the V12 Le Mans project with BMW.
That in turn led to a berth at the Williams grand prix team on its testing programme. As both BMW and Michelin came into F1, Ross spent most of his time overseeing the mileage of drivers Tom Kristensen and Jorg Muller, before a call from Patrick
