Mercedes was one of the top names of motor racing in the early pioneering days of the sport, but that all changed in 1955 when a devastating accident during the Le Mans 24 Hours race saw Pierre Levegh's car thrown into the main spectator area, killing the driver and 83 fans in what remains the worst accident in motor sport history. As a result of these horrific events, Mercedes withdrew from competition for decades. It did eventually make a cautious return to F1 as an engine supplier to Swiss team Sauber in 1994 in association with Ilmor, before quickly moving on to a successful collaboration with McLaren. While the company was still wary about making a full return to the sport with a...
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