Axalta Coating Systems is celebrating a successful start to its expanded role as an Official Team Supplier to Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport at the Heineken Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai after Lewis Hamilton took victory. Participation in F1 through Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport is a key component of Axalta’s decades-long strategic partnership with motorsports on a global basis which enables the company to demonstrate the technology and durability of its coatings in high endurance racing environments. 

“Axalta and Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport share a commitment to performance and technology,” explained Charlie Shaver, Axalta Chairman and CEO. “Our contribution to the team on the Formula 1 track is the ultimate test of the innovation and engineering that all of us at Axalta put into our products.”

Axalta’s premium Spies Hecker refinish brand paint is used on the high-impact, instantly-recognisable liveries of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport Silver Arrows race cars. The Championship-winning 2016 Mercedes F1 W07 Hybrid car featured Spies Hecker’s striking, yet lightweight formulation.

Toto Wolff, Executive Director & Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport says, "Our Silver Arrow cars are the highlight of the team's brand during the race weekends and the finish achieved by our paint shop with the help of these superb products is outstanding. That the paint is lightweight and can contribute to saving weight on the car is a real bonus for us.”

The 2017 Mercedes-AMG F1 W08 EQ Power+ race car has 13 colours, none of which are commercially available: five shades of green, three shades of blue, four shades of graphite silver, and the main colour, called Stirling Silver after Sir Stirling Moss who drove for Mercedes in 1955. During the season, the team paints thousands of panels and components, as many as 150 in some weeks, so the speed and accuracy of application of the Spies Hecker paint system is vital.