Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Limited, the company which runs the Mercedes Formula 1 team, has announced Markus Schäfer a new non-executive chairman.
Schäfer has been a non-executive director of Mercedes Grand Prix since March this year, and is also on the board of Daimler AG – Mercedes’ parent company – as part of its Group Research and Car Development division.
He has risen through the ranks of the organisation since joining as a trainee in 1990.
Mercedes has appointed Frank Markus Weber, Vice President [of] Corporate Development of Daimler AG as a non-executive director.
The moves come in the wake of the departures from Mercedes Grand Prix of Ola Kallenius, who is now overall Daimler and Mercedes-Benz Chairman following Dieter Zetsche’s retirement, and Bodo Uebber.
Schafer and Weber join existing board members Britta Seeger, Rene Berger and Mercedes Grand Prix CEO and Team Principal Toto Wolff.
“The commitment of our parent company has been fundamental to the team's success and will continue to be so in the years ahead,” said Wolff.
“This support for Formula 1 has always been reflected in our team's board, with strong representation from Daimler's senior leadership, and it continues through the appointments of Markus and Frank Markus for the years ahead.
“Formula 1 is a powerful technology and marketing platform for Mercedes-Benz globally, and a valuable shop window for the company's values and its competitiveness."
Mercedes returned to Formula 1 as a manufacturer team in 2010 and has swept to the last five Drivers’ and Constructors’ titles, emerging as the championship’s leading squad in the hybrid era.
