Customer F1 teams a boost for Mercedes engine programme

While Ferrari and Renault are working with two teams each and Honda only supplies McLaren, Mercedes has its own works outfit, plus customer deals with Williams, Force India and Lotus.

Although the wide scope of its activities means Mercedes must supply more parts, its engine chief Andy Cowell reckons that the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages.

"We get more track mileage because we run exactly the same hardware specification," explained Cowell.

"So on that journey up to Melbourne, on that journey to defining the specification that we homologate and the number of tokens that we use, we get more data.

"Although sometimes data scares you, it is super-valuable for determining what you should fit and how hard you should run it when you go racing. So that is a big advantage to us."

Cowell has also revealed that there can be direct benefits for its works team too, because there are more opportunities for customers to unearth potential trouble early.

"That learning aspect, of unearthing issues, often we see issues unearthed with customers before our works outfit," he said.

"Those occasional issues pop up on customers, and it means that we can solve those issues before they can affect anyone else."