Sometimes just one manoeuvre is all that’s needed to make the effects of technological progress felt. That realisation is something you can experience first-hand at the headquarters of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport in Brackley. Behind locked, ­access-controlled doors, delicate items are handled by employees wearing dark team uniforms, gloves, safety goggles – sometimes even breathing apparatus. Watching them through the small windows on the ground floor, it quickly becomes clear that this isn’t just a ­racing car factory; it’s a laboratory for the future.

Daimler deliberately took a new approach as it developed its new generation of electric vans. Long before the market launch of the eVito and the eSprinter, Daimler conducted direct talks to find out and analyse customers’ wishes and expectations. The result is a range of commercial vehicles that are made to measure for a wide spectrum of applications. These electric-drive models can be used by large fleet operators as well as by individual companies and tradespeople with much smaller fleets. The eVito will be launched on the market in autumn, and the eSprinter will follow suit next year.

Did somebody seriously just complain that ­Formula 1 cars have got quieter? It’s just before noon at the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motor­sport facility in Brackley. The throaty revving of an engine fills the warehouse. It’s so loud that you need earplugs just to get it to a tolerable level. Head Mechanic Matt Deane, 44, has scheduled one more pit stop rehearsal before the team heads to their next race. They practise their manoeuvres in as few actions as possible, just like they’ve done hundreds of times before. But if your job is to change a tyre in under two seconds, there’s no such thing as too much practice. Deane looks at a screen that tells him exactly how long each ­person needs to do what. In Formula 1, every millisecond counts – and that also goes for the crew.