Mercedes returned to dominance in the hybrid era, starting in 2014. At the end of their first triumphant season, we caught up with Mercedes High Performance Powertrain managing director Andy Cowell to find out how they did it.

Mercedes-Benz dominated the 2014 Formula 1 World Championship, and the headlines were about the title winning Silver Arrows cars. However, the Mercedes HPP unit created to power it also powered three other chassis, all of which performed well during races. It is, according to some, the most efficient gasoline combustion powertrain of all time.
?At the start we simply did not have a clue where we were compared to the others ? in hindsight though it?s gone exceptionally well, but we have had a few wobbles,? says Andy Cowell, Managing Director of Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains. ?Exceptionally well? is quite an understatement, the Mercedes-Benz PU106A Hybrid powered every pole position lap of the year, a feat only achieved once before by the Ford DFV in 1969. In qualifying terms, the PU106A Hybrid is the strongest F1 engine of all time. Its overall performance was so strong that some called for a return to the obsolete V8 engines of the previous decade just to level the playing field.
The PU106A Hybrid
The arrival of the new technical regulations that led to the creation of the PU106A Hybrid was convoluted, though the basic elements remained broadly the same from their first public discussion in mid 2008...