Norbert Haug (born 24 November 1952 in Engelsbrand, Baden-Württemberg) is a German journalist, and the President in charge of all Mercedes-Benz motorsport activity, including Formula One, Formula 3 and DTM. Under his direction Mercedes-Benz have enjoyed considerable success in all categories, winning multiple races and championships.

Haug joined the Pforzheimer Zeitung newspaper in his home town of Pforzheim as a volunteer, before joining them as a trainee journalist. He then joined publishing house Motor-Presse-Verlag in Stuttgart, part of Gruner + Jahr, where he became head of motorsports for Auto, Motor und Sport magazine before becoming its deputy chief editor in 1988.

While pursuing a career in journalism he also raced cars, including the 24 Hours Nürburgring where he came second in 1985, and takes part like many in Formula1 in the Porsche Carrera Cup. In 1986, Haug drove a Williams F1 car in private test.

Haug joined Mercedes-Benz in 1990, with a brief to revive their motor sport credentials. Haug maintained Mercedes presence in Group C and later in the DTM and International Touring Car Championship. Early successes included Klaus Ludwig winning the DTM drivers title in 1992 and 1994, and Bernd Schneider winning both the DTM and ITC drivers titles in 1995. In 2000 Haug and Mercedes were instrumental in the relaunch of Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters.

Haug is a surname which appears most commonly in Germany and Norway. The name Haug derives the old Norse word haugr which can be translated to mean hill, knoll, or mound. Other derivatives include Haugan, Hauge, Haugedal, Haugen and Haugland, all of which are common Norwegian surnames. The surname Haug is shared by several notable people:

Ross James Brawn OBE (born 23 November 1954) is an English motorsport engineer and Formula One team principal. He has worked for a number of Formula One teams, serving as the technical director of the championship-winning Benetton and Ferrari teams. He took a sabbatical from the sport in 2007 but returned to F1 for the 2008 season as Team Principal of Honda. He was the owner of the Brawn GP team, which acquired the Honda team in early 2009, and won the Formula One Constructors and Drivers Championships in that year. Mercedes bought into the team in November 2009, making Brawn Team Principal & Co-Owner with Nick Fry. In 2011 Brawn & Fry sold the remaining shares to Mercedes Benz. Brawn remains as Team Principal with Fry as CEO.

Brawn was born in south Manchester, Lancashire (now part of Greater Manchester) England. He became interested in engineering during his early years, often visiting Belle Vue Stadium to watch various forms of motor racing. He moved south aged 11 as his father took job near Reading and subsequently he attended Reading School in Reading, Berkshire.

Bryan Adams, OC OBC (born Bryan Guy Adams, 5 November 1959) is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. For his contributions to music, Adams has many awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations, 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television in 1992. He has also won MTV, ASCAP, and American Music awards. In addition, he has won two Ivor Novello Awards for song composition and has been nominated for several Golden Globe Awards and three times for Academy Awards for his songwriting for films.

Adams was awarded the Order of Canada and the Order of British Columbia for contributions to popular music and philanthropic work via his own foundation, which helps improve education for people around the world.

Adams was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame, with the 2,435th star in March 2011 and Canada's Walk of Fame in 1998, and in April 2006 he was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at Canada's Juno Awards. In 2008, Bryan was ranked 38 on the list of All-Time top artists by the Billboard Hot 100 50th Anniversary Charts. On 13 January 2010, he received the Allan Waters Humanitarian Award for his part in numerous charitable concerts and campaigns during his career, and on 1 May 2010 was given the Governor General's Performing Arts Award for his 30 years of contributions to the arts.

Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton,MBE (born 7 January 1985) is a British Formula One racing driver from England, currently racing for the McLaren team. He is the 2008 Formula One World Champion.

Hamilton was born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. In December 1995, at the age of ten, he approached McLaren team principal Ron Dennis at the Autosport Awards ceremony and told him, "I want to race for you one day ... I want to race for McLaren." Less than three years later McLaren and Mercedes-Benz signed him to their Young Driver Support Programme. After winning the British Formula Renault, Formula Three Euroseries, and GP2 championships on his way up the racing career ladder, he drove for McLaren in 2007, making his Formula One debut 12 years after his initial encounter with Dennis. Lewis Hamilton's contract for the McLaren driver development program made him the youngest ever driver to secure a contract which later resulted in an F1 drive.

Coming from a mixed-race background, with a black father and white mother, Hamilton is often labelled "the first black driver in Formula One", although Willy T. Ribbs tested an F1 car in 1986. He is also the first driver of black heritage to win a major race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in any discipline.