Northamptonshire Mercedes F1 engineers honoured with national award for life-saving coronavirus ventilators

Formula 1 engineers at one of Mercedes' bases in Northamptonshire have earned a national award for their life-saving ventilators for coronavirus patients.

Mercedes-AMG Petronas was presented with The inews Pivot for Purpose Corporate Award at the Lloyds Bank National Business Awards on Monday (November 10).

The prize is in recognition of the work at the High Performance Powertrains factory in Brixworth work to design and manufacture 10,000 breathing aids in just a month for the NHS in partnership with University College London.

F1 champion and Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton said on the night: “I’m very proud to hear that Mercedes AMG HPP will receive the Pivot for Purpose Award.

"We celebrated our seventh consecutive constructors’ championship last week and the power units that powered us to this historical achievement were built by HPP in Brixworth.

“These engines were designed and built by an incredibly impressive group of women and men who are passionate, determined and innovative.

"They’re engineers and technicians who don’t take no for an answer.

"That’s why they stepped up when the world went into lockdown and completely transformed their business, building breathing aids instead of F1 engines.

"In less than four weeks they engineered and built 10,000 devices for the NHS. This award could not have gone to a better group of people.”

Other award winners included Cynthia Stroud, who is delivering 100,000 meals every month to 1,500 families through 47 schools during the pandemic, and Mindful Chef, which has surpassed five million donations of free school meals.

Paul Gordon, from Lloyds Banking Group, added: “It is fantastic to see all of the great stories from this year’s winners.

"It has been a challenging year as businesses have faced the uncertainty driven by Covid, so it great to hear all of the stories from our winners around how they have grown their businesses, supported their customers, been there for their staff and supported those most in need and vulnerable in their local communities– a really inspirational read.

"Congratulations to all those who either won awards this year or who were highly commended on this fantastic achievement.”