Mercedes-Benz

Created in 1926 from the merger of Daimler and Benz, Mercedes-Benz has a relationship with the 24 Hours of Le Mans that is as brief as it is intense — a series of masterstrokes separated by decades, and a much-anticipated return in 2026. The first chapter was written in 1952. For its post-war return to international competition, the Stuttgart firm entered the 300 SL, the coupé with the famous gullwing doors. Hermann Lang and Fritz Riess won at the end of a collective demonstration capped by a one-two finish, laying the foundations of the SL legend. Three years later, the 1955 disaster, the greatest tragedy in motorsport history, led Mercedes-Benz to withdraw from racing at the end of that season — an absence that would last more than three decades. The comeback came through endurance racing, first as an engine supplier and then as a full partner of the Swiss Sauber team. In 1989, the Sauber-Mercedes C9s, draped in the silver of the historic Silver Arrows, crushed the race: Jochen Mass, Manuel Reuter and Stanley Dickens took victory, and the marque once again scored a one-two, thirty-seven years after the 300 SL's. That same year, Sauber-Mercedes dominated the world sports-prototype championship. The brand's Le Mans story then came to an abrupt halt in 1999, when the CLR's spectacular airborne accidents prematurely ended its prototype programme. Mercedes-Benz turned its focus to Formula 1, where it would build one of the most dominant dynasties in modern history. In 2026, the circle closes: Mercedes-AMG joins the LMGT3 category of the FIA World Endurance Championship, bringing the three-pointed star back to the 24 Hours of Le Mans grid. For a manufacturer whose two victorious campaigns — 1952 and 1989 — both ended in one-two finishes, this official return to La Sarthe carries the weight of a promise: Mercedes-Benz never comes to Le Mans to make up the numbers.

• Country : DEU
• Founded : 1926
• Le Mans wins : 2
• First win : 1952
• Last win : 1989