2019 Perfection of ursuit MERCEDES P No. 7 2019 Pursuit of Perfection: Roger Federer DUBAI, 28 MARCH 2018 Roger Federer headed to Dubai just weeks after clinching his 20th Grand Slam title. Why? For a film shoot with Mercedes-Benz and an exclusive interview with CIRCLE magazine. There he also drew his perfectly imperfect circle for the cover of this issue and wrote a personal comment for each of his Grand Slam wins – with the same hand that made him a tennis legend. MERCEDES CIRCLE No. 7 DEAR READERS, Particularly when it comes to human interaction, it’s the qualities Welcome to the new issue of CIRCLE magazine! that make us unique that enable us to establish connections with friends, family members and partners. We all have our very At Mercedes-Benz, every day is about meeting your high demands. own character. After all, it is often these very aspects of our Exemplary of our efforts is the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class, personalities that endear us to others. which, with its superior technology and sublime fittings, is rightfully considered one of the world’s foremost luxury cars. Character can also be found in abundance in Mercedes-Benz cars. Or the new Mercedes-Benz EQC. The EQC isn’t just the first And developing this character – guided by your needs and fully electric vehicle by Mercedes-Benz, it is also an important our ideas – to make it ever more unique, ever more unmistakable, milestone for our EQ brand, and indeed for mobility of the future. is a mission we dedicate ourselves to each and every day. To put it another way: »Electric now has a Mercedes«. We thank you for your trust and wish you an enjoyable read! Because living up to the highest expectations is what drives us, we have made it the focus of this issue. The first stop on our quest for perfection is a feature on the phenomenal Roger Federer. Boasting an incredible 20 Grand Slam titles, the Swiss world star is the most successful tennis player in history. For each of his victories, we have selected a photo showing Federer at the Dr Dieter Zetsche Britta Seeger moment of his respective triumph. Exclusively for CIRCLE magazine, Federer included a personal, hand-written statement for each image. We also chatted to the sports star at length, gaining some unusually candid glimpses into his life and mindset. Is he the perfect sportsman? »Nobody is perfect forever,« responded Federer. This modesty makes him extremely likeable, of course. But, essentially, he is simply being truthful. DAIMLER AG DAIMLER PHOTOS ANNA MARIA NIELSEN ANNA MARIA NIELSEN COVER PHOTO COVER CIRCLE 4 Mercedes-Benz Issue 2019 5 Editorial 72 IT’S ALL IN THE DETAILS 94 DESTINATIONS How the Travelling around the Mercedes- Maybach 82 122 world with Mercedes-Benz S-Class is setting the Historic icons Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton is in awe of the Mercedes-AMG ONE Circle of Excellence Pursuit of perfection standard for luxury cars 96 PEBBLE BEACH 78 WONDERFULLY Every car-lover ought to IMPERFECT experience at least once Why it’s the little flaws the Concours d’Elegance that make us lovable. at California’s Pebble An essay Beach. We took a look around on your behalf 82 C 111 OR 300 SLR? Rudolf Uhlenhaut 102 HIDDEN TREASURES 12 developed two of the most Crossing Europe Paying homage: Roger Federer’s triumphant career legendary Mercedes-Benz in 48 hours: travelling sports cars. The super- to breathtaking latives compared Mercedes-Benz collections Brilliant: Rudolf Uhlenhaut with son by private jet 90 THE MAGIC OF A BRAND A new brand space 106 IRELAND explains the allure of A road trip Mercedes-Benz along Ireland’s spectacular coast VISIT US ONLINE AT: 112 ICE DRIVE circle.mercedes-benz.com The most stylish way to drift around the polar circle: in a very cool Mercedes-AMG 116 MILLE MIGLIA How the Swiss tennis player made sport history Circle members tell us about standout 72 132 moments at the famous Even more elegant: the Mercedes-Maybach gets a new look Emissaries from the future open-road race 12 »I FEEL FREE« 54 ULTIMATE LUXURY 122 SPEED DREAMS An emotional conversa- Welcome to the world of Close-up: tion with the Swiss tennis Mercedes-Maybach! the Mercedes-AMG ONE player Roger Federer about his eventful 56 EXPERIENCING 132 THE NEW FREEDOM tennis career THE SUBLIME EQ Marketing Director Gorden Wagener, chief Jörg Heinermann on the 20 STRIVING FOR design officer at first all-electric car from PERFECTION Daimler AG, on the future The EQC marks a new era. Mercedes-Benz and the Federer comments for of the Mercedes-Maybach revolutionary concept CIRCLE on his greatest luxury brand behind the new EQ brand Grand Slam moments – in the international star’s 64 EXQUISITE 116 04 EDITORIAL own handwritten notes CRAFTSMANSHIP (2), AG RICHTER/DAIMLER MAKS AG, DAIMLER The Mille Miglia: 08 CONTRIBUTORS How is a Italy at its finest 10 IMPRINT PHOTOS Mercedes-Maybach made? The new models at the Center of Excellence in Sindelfingen, Germany GETTY IMAGES REGINA RECHT, GLYNN-SMITH, JONATHAN Pure passion: Mille Miglia fans 138 TOUCHPOINTS CIRCLE 6 Mercedes-Benz Issue 2019 7 Contents THE CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE Our reporters and photographers have been on the road in Germany, the U.K., Italy and Dubai for CIRCLE 1 2 4 5 An intense day: for the commercial, Roger Federer has been hooked up to motion capture tech- 3 nology, which precisely records his every move. Later on, he puts pen to paper exclu- sively for CIRCLE and Sindelfingen, Brackley, Italy, – unusually candidly – Munich and Dubai answers the questions posed by our reporter Alexandros Stefanidis (bottom right). 1 REGINA RECHT 3 MAKS RICHTER 4 TOBIAS HABERL The Munich photographer The versatile photographer The editor of Süddeutsche spent a whole day revelling has become a familiar Zeitung Magazin describes in luxury: taking photos at face at our Circle events, the flip side to perfection the Mercedes-Benz Center of where he captures all in an emotional essay, Excellence in Sindelfingen, the special moments. for once true perfection Germany in the morning, Richter, a native of Stuttgart, has been achieved, there visiting the Maybach manu- Germany, specialises in is no need for further factory just a few hundred striking car photography development. And according metres away in the afternoon. and haunting portraits. to the award-winning Her thoughts in a nutshell? His work this year included journalist, people are only »Really photogenic locations photographing the really unique due to their with really great people.« classic Mille Miglia. minor imperfections. 2 LEWIS HAMILTON 5 ROGER FEDERER The editorial team of CIRCLE feels honoured to have The Swiss tennis ace is universally regarded as being polite – and worked with Lewis Hamilton. not even his rivals begrudge him his triumphs. But is it all just The Formula 1 champion and driver paid homage to a facade? Our author Alexandros Stefanidis met the global star in a vehicle that allowed Dubai to see for himself what a nice, friendly person he really is. Mercedes-AMG to set new technological standards and While at a shoot for a Mercedes-Benz advert, Federer donated Hamilton himself to drive several hours of his time to comment on great moments throughout an almost identical replica GLYNN-SMITH (3), JONATHAN (2), ANNA MARIA NIELSEN GINA BOLLE, PRIVATE his career and to draw a, well, perfect circle for the cover page – of his Formula 1 engine on the road. PHOTOS exclusively for the readers of CIRCLE. CIRCLE 8 Mercedes-Benz Issue 2019 9 Contributors Pursuit of Perfection IMPRINT PRODUCTION INFORMATION ON THE VEHICLES*: Laudert GmbH + Co. KG, Mercedes-Maybach S 560 4Matic: fuel PUBLISHER Magellanstraße 1, 70771 consumption (urban/extra-urban/com- Daimler AG, Mercedesstraße 137, Leinfelden-Echterdingen, Germany bined): 15.0–14.6/7.6–7.6/10.4–10.3 l/ 1 DRUCK 100 km ; CO2 emissions combined: 237– 70327 Stuttgart, Germany 1 Optimal Media GmbH, Glienholz- 234 g/km . Mercedes-Maybach S 650: ADDRESS fuel consumption (urban/extra-urban/ Daimler AG, HPC 0930, weg 7, 17207 Röbel/Müritz, Germany combined): 20.3–20.3/10.4–10.4/ 1 70546 Stuttgart, Germany COPYRIGHT 14.0–14.0 l/100 km ; CO2 emissions com- RESPONSIBLE ON BEHALF Copyright on all articles vests in bined: 320–320 g/km1. OF THE PUBLISHER CIRCLE c/o Daimler AG. Mercedes-Maybach S 650 Pullman: ­­ Raimund Dornburg, All rights reserved. fuel consumption (urban/extra-urban/ Silke von Homeyer The magazine and all articles and combined): 21.3/10.5/14.6 l/100 km; CO2 emissions combined: 330 g/km. www.circle.mercedes-benz.com pictures contained within it are Mercedes-AMG G 63: fuel consumption CONCEPT AND REALISTION protected by copyright. Export and (urban/extra-urban/combined): Olando GmbH, Prannerstraße 11, distribution of CIRCLE abroad are 16.5/11.1/13.1 l/100 km; CO2 emissions To be awarded for excellence, you don’t necessarily 80333 München, Germany permitted only with prior authorisati- combined: 299 g/km. on. We assume no liability for textual Mercedes-AMG GT-Family: fuel consump- MANAGING DIRECTORS or photo-graphic material submitted tion (urban/extra-urban/combined): need to have more than 428 years of experience. 1 Dr. Robin Houcken, to us on an unsolicited basis. 15.6–11.71/1.0–7.7/12.5–9.1 l/100 km ; Dr. Dominik Wichmann Note: Despite careful scrutiny in CO2 emissions combined: the selection of our sources, 284–209 g/km1. we can assume no liability for the Mercedes-AMG C 63: fuel consumption But it is quite useful.