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In pursuit of the
WINNING FORMULA
Rob Thomas , COO of Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team , reflects on the highs , lows and continuous quest for excellence with Danielle Champ
It ’ s the end of the racing season for 2023 , and Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team ( Mercedes-AMG ) snatched second place in the Constructor ’ s Championship , and third in the Driver ’ s . It ’ s been a turbulent year for the motorsport group , and as teams head into the winter season , Manufacturing Today had the opportunity to sit down with the COO , Rob Thomas , to discuss the year gone by , and what to expect from the team next season .
To get the ball rolling , we take a closer look at the COO ’ s career to learn about how he came to hold one of the highest positions within the business . “ I ’ ve been in Formula
One for about 18 years now ,” he begins , “ I ’ ve worked in automotive , oil and in aerospace , and it was only when I was with GKN Aerospace that I received a phonecall about an opportunity in Formula One .” Although Rob knew next to nothing about working in the sector , he was definitely interested . He then went on to work at Mercedes-AMG ’ s sister company , High Performance Powertrain , before moving over to the Brackley site in 2010 .
For those who have followed the races throughout Rob ’ s tenure , you ’ ll know that the cars have undergone significant structural changes – the most significant being the installation of the hybrid
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