Tyrrell to Mercedes: The Longest Rebrand Chain in F1
How a Surrey woodyard team became BAR, Honda, Brawn and finally Mercedes-AMG Petronas — the most successful rebrand chain in Formula One history.
31 August 2026
From a woodyard in Ockham to a works Mercedes team
Ken Tyrrell built his Formula One team out of a timber yard in Ockham, Surrey. Between 1970 and 1998 Tyrrell Racing started more than 400 Grands Prix, won three drivers'' titles with Jackie Stewart, and gave the sport its strangest car, the six-wheeled P34.
The four transitions
1999 — British American Racing
British American Tobacco bought the Tyrrell entry for the 1999 season. BAR arrived promising wins and delivered none in its first year, but it secured the constructors'' championship runner-up spot in 2004.
2006 — Honda Racing F1
Honda took full ownership for 2006. Jenson Button won at Hungary that year, the team''s first victory under any of its post-Tyrrell names.
2009 — Brawn GP
Honda withdrew in December 2008. Ross Brawn bought the team for a nominal sum, fitted Mercedes engines and won both championships in its only season — the only constructor ever to do so.
2010 — Mercedes
Mercedes-Benz bought Brawn GP and returned as a works team after 55 years away. From 2014 to 2021 it won eight consecutive constructors'' championships.
Why the chain matters
Read the full graph of rebrands on the interactive lineage graph, or compare the record with the Jordan to Aston Martin chain. Every constructor identity is listed on the team name changes page.