The Brixworth factory, very close to the Silverstone circuit, has been Mercedes' most sacred site for years. A state-of-the-art plant, safe from any curious camera, where the team manufactures all the components of its engines, the great dominators of Formula 1 since 2014. However, in the last two weeks Brixworth has undergone a radical transformation.

In recent days, the aforementioned High Performance Powertrains is dedicated exclusively to manufacturing respirators against the Covid-19, as confirmed Tuesday by Andy Cowell, head of the Brixworth plant. "After releasing the design specifications, many companies around the world will be able to produce these devices at high speed and scale," revealed the British engineer, referring to the CPAP, a ventilation aid device.

The same 40 machines that in recent years made turbochargers and pistons now run 1,000 respirators a day, which will be distributed free of charge to British hospitals. The aim is to comply with the request of the British National Health Service (NHS) and prevent the collapse of the clinics.

100 hours, two weeks

"It is a formidable achievement that these machines arrive in hospitals just two weeks after the first model is manufactured," said David Lomas, head of the University College of London (UCL), the center that has worked jointly with the engineers at the Silver Arrows.

According to the data revealed by Cowell, the first unit of these CPAPs could be completed just 100 hours after the first meeting between its engineers and the members of the UCL.

It must be remembered that these achievements of Mercedes are integrated into Project Pitlane, the initiative promoted by Formula 1 that integrates the seven British teams (Mercedes, Red Bull, McLaren, Renault, Haas, Racing Point and Williams) in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

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