Mercedes takes the engine crown. Ferrari’s 22-year reign ends in Baku. George Russell puts the record in silver hands.
Mercedes has become Formula 1’s most successful engine manufacturer by race wins, reaching 252 Grand Prix victories after George Russell won in Azerbaijan. That puts the German marque one ahead of Ferrari, whose tally stood at 251 after Charles Leclerc’s British Grand Prix victory earlier in the season.
The milestone shifts the top line of the F1 manufacturer rankings, but the numbers tell a more nuanced story than a simple team-versus-team duel. They count wins by cars powered by each company’s engines, including customer teams, rather than constructors’ championships or championship titles. For Mercedes, a record built across different eras and teams now edges a motorsport legacy long associated with Ferrari.
Mercedes passes Ferrari in Formula 1 engine wins
Russell’s Baku triumph supplied the decisive number: Mercedes-powered cars have now won 252 Grands Prix, against Ferrari’s 251. The result ended a record run that began in 2004, when Ferrari moved ahead of Ford Cosworth and held the leading position for more than two decades.
The victory also extended a modern surge. Since the turbo-hybrid era began in 2014, Mercedes engines have claimed 153 wins, while Ferrari power has taken 29. Russell’s win adds to a tally shared by the works team and customer outfits including McLaren, Brawn GP and Racing Point; a recent Russell victory report captures the works team’s part in that run.
From Fangio’s first win to the hybrid-era run
Mercedes first reached the top step with Juan Manuel Fangio at the 1954 French Grand Prix, on the marque’s Formula 1 debut. The team won nine races before withdrawing after the 1955 Le Mans disaster, then returned to the championship as an engine supplier in the late 1990s.
David Coulthard delivered Mercedes’ 10th engine victory at the 1997 Australian Grand Prix in a McLaren, by which point Ferrari had already won 108 times. Ferrari’s total was almost entirely built by its own team: 250 of its 251 victories came in Ferrari chassis. Sebastian Vettel remains the exception, winning the 2008 Italian Grand Prix for Toro Rosso with a customer Ferrari engine.
The gap between the manufacturers reflects distinct routes to the top: Ferrari largely accumulated wins as a constructor, while Mercedes spread its engine success across several teams. That distinction matters when comparing race-win records with constructors’ championships, where the measure is team performance across a season.
What Mercedes’ record means for F1 history
The new mark gives Mercedes the leading place in engine wins, not an automatic claim to every measure of Formula 1 success. Ferrari’s record-setting history remains anchored by its long presence in the championship, while Mercedes’ tally gained pace through its dominant hybrid-era power units and customer partnerships.
With 2026 bringing a new technical cycle, the record will face a fresh test as teams adapt their cars and power units. Mercedes now leads the race-win count, but the fight for championship titles is separate—and Ferrari will want its response on track, not in the history books. The wider 2026 title challenge shows why that distinction still matters.
One record is settled, but the season’s results will decide whether Mercedes can turn its engine advantage into another run of victories. Follow the latest F1 news and analysis as the battle moves on.
