The man who's responsible for the most dominant F1-engine says goodbye

Mercedes announced this week that Andy Cowell, the head of their engine department, will leave immediately. He will be replaced by Hywel Thomas. This will leave the organisation in experienced hands. However, it should not be underestimated how important Cowell has been for the Formula 1 team.

Mercedes AMG HPP is the sister organisation that develops the engines for the Formula 1 team. However, the company has existed for much longer and was once taken over from Ilmor, the famous British engine builder. Since 1994 HPP has been responsible for all Mercedes engines in Formula 1.

Although those engines were always competitive, by far the greatest successes were achieved under Cowell's leadership. With him at the helm, the hybrid-powered engine was introduced, forming the basis of the most dominant team in Formula 1 history. Cowell is now ready for a new challenge, but has a lot positive memories of his time at Mercedes.

“After 16 enjoyable years working for HPP, I have decided that now is the right time to move on from my role and seek a new engineering business challenge. I have appreciated the opportunity to work with Markus and Toto in defining the future leadership structure of the company and I have every confidence in the ability of Hywel and the team to lead the company forward."

"It has been an absolute honour to work for Mercedes and especially to be Managing Director of HPP for seven years. Thank you to everyone who has provided me with such amazing opportunities and enjoyable challenges, especially Ola Källenius who had the courage to support me back in 2006.”, is the statement from Cowell.