There are now over 700,000 reported coronavirus infections across the world, and over 35,000 people have died as a direct result. The numbers are horrific, and they’ll probably get even more so before the situation starts to turn.
The unprecedented scale of the pandemic has prompted into action big players from across industries and countries, as humanity as a whole races to avoid a complete nightmare. Carmakers are in a position to help perhaps more than others, and they seem to have stopped hesitating in lending a hand.
At the end of last week, Formula 1 teams based in the UK announced the start of Project Pitlane, an initiative meant to speed and ease the development of new medical aids to be used to fight the virus. The project includes Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains (HPP), the group behind Mercedes’ unbreakable domination in Formula 1 over the past years.
Mercedes did not waste any time and quickly got to work last week. As the world is racing to make these medical aids faster and in larger quantities, Mercedes opted to reverse-engineer breathing aids called Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) that are already in use in hospitals across China and Italy.
With the help of University College London (UCL) and the UCL Hospital, the British, Mercedes-made CPAP was ready in under 100 hours, and the hardware has already been approved for testing by the government.
“The Formula 1 community has shown an impressive response to the call for support, coming together in the ‘Project Pitlane’ collective to support the national need at this time across a number of different projects,” said in a statement Andy Cowell, Mercedes HPP’s Managing Director.
“We have been proud to put our resources at the service of UCL to deliver the CPAP project to the highest standards and in the fastest possible timeframe.”
According to BBC, Mercedes-AMG can start making about 1,000 such CPAPs per day once the trials are concluded, and that is expected to happen in about one weeks’ time.
At the end of last week, Formula 1 teams based in the UK announced the start of Project Pitlane, an initiative meant to speed and ease the development of new medical aids to be used to fight the virus. The project includes Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains (HPP), the group behind Mercedes’ unbreakable domination in Formula 1 over the past years.
Mercedes did not waste any time and quickly got to work last week. As the world is racing to make these medical aids faster and in larger quantities, Mercedes opted to reverse-engineer breathing aids called Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) that are already in use in hospitals across China and Italy.
With the help of University College London (UCL) and the UCL Hospital, the British, Mercedes-made CPAP was ready in under 100 hours, and the hardware has already been approved for testing by the government.
“The Formula 1 community has shown an impressive response to the call for support, coming together in the ‘Project Pitlane’ collective to support the national need at this time across a number of different projects,” said in a statement Andy Cowell, Mercedes HPP’s Managing Director.
“We have been proud to put our resources at the service of UCL to deliver the CPAP project to the highest standards and in the fastest possible timeframe.”
According to BBC, Mercedes-AMG can start making about 1,000 such CPAPs per day once the trials are concluded, and that is expected to happen in about one weeks’ time.