IWC AND LAUREUS SPORT FOR GOOD TAKE PROGRAMME PARTICIPANTS TO THE MERCEDES-AMG PETRONAS MOTORSPORT FACTORY
Schaffhausen / Brackley, 12 November 2019 – IWC Schaffhausen and Laureus Sport for Good offered a group of young people an exclusive look behind the scenes of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport factory in Brackley, UK. The group, who are members of the Laureus-supported Fight for Peace programme, were given a unique insight into how the team’s championship-winning cars are designed and manufactured.
Formula OneTM cars are highly sophisticated machines, engineered using the most advanced materials and incorporating the latest developments in aerodynamics, transmission and hybrid engine technology. Due to the secret and competitive nature of the sport, only a few visitors are granted access to the factory in Brackley. In this industrial complex in the heart of Northamptonshire, the world’s most advanced racing cars like the Mercedes-AMG F1 W10 EQ Power+ are designed, built and prepared for action.
Based on a shared passion for engineering, IWC Schaffhausen has been the “Official Engineering Partner” of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport since 2013. Teaming up with another of its partners, Laureus Sport for Good, IWC Schaffhausen offered a small group of children a fascinating look behind the scenes. With academies in Rio de Janeiro and London, and through an alliance of partners in 25 countries, the Fight for Peace programme works to realise the potential of young people living in communities affected by violence, crime and social exclusion. Combining martial arts with education and personal development, it aims to eventually help attendees into further education, employment or training.
On their tour of the Brackley site, the group visited the race bays, where the cars are assembled. In the factory, they marvelled at the production of metal and composite materials and were also allowed to feel for themselves just how light carbon composite parts are. Another highlight was a trip inside the Race Support Room. From here, a team of engineers provide remote support to their colleagues at the race track during Grand Prix weekends, connecting to their colleagues through a high bandwidth data feed. The visit ended with a Q&A session with Mike Elliot, Technology Director of Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport.
LAUREUS SPORT FOR GOOD
In 2018, nearly 300,000 young people all over the world directly benefitted from more than 160 Laureus Sport for Good supported programmes in 40 countries, working to end violence, discrimination and disadvantage by using sport as the tool for change. Every programme Laureus supports is addressing at least one of the following six social issues, which are aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals; Health, Education, Women and Girls, Employability, Inclusive Society, Peaceful Society.
IWC Schaffhausen is the Engineer of Watchmaking. In 1868, the American watchmaker and engineer Florentine Ariosto Jones established the ‘International Watch Company’ in Schaffhausen in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. By combining the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge industrial technology and processes, he laid the foundation for IWC’s unique engineering approach to watchmaking.
IWC’s distinctive and pure design is brought to life through collections ranging from elegant dress watches to sports and luxury sports watches, notably the Portugieser, Portofino, Pilot’s Watches and Ingenieur. Over its more than 150-year history, IWC has earned a reputation for creating professional instrument watches and functional complications, especially chronographs and calendars, which are ingenious, robust and easy to use.
A pioneer in the use of titanium and ceramic, IWC specializes in performance materials such as Ceratanium®. IWC’s advanced engineering division XPL develops technologies that enhance the durability of mechanical watches and extend their applications to environments with extreme conditions such as jet aviation and human spaceflight.
IWC is a leader in luxury watchmaking, crafting timepieces built to last for generations and continuously improving every aspect of how it manufactures, distributes and services its watches responsibly. Empowering the next generation of engineers, the brand also partners with organizations that work globally to support children and young people. IWC. EngineeredTM.