Mercedes engine department 'fighting a few little issues'

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Mercedes engine boss Andy Cowell says the development of the German team's latest spec power unit hasn't come without its issues.

Cowell expressed his cautious stance in a video released on social media (see hereunder), but the Mercedes engine guru's also underlined the progress achieved by the engineers at Brixworth over the winter.

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"Lots going on in Brixworth, lots of improvements across the whole power unit, on the ERS side, on the internal combustion engine side," said Cowell. "As ever fighting a few little issues as we pull everything together.

"So, lots of work going into building the right spec, getting it long-runned, and then providing power units to the teams so that they can fire up their cars - I think you've spotted one that's fired up already!

"And then getting the hardware ready to go track testing. Car launch on February 14th, with a red rose, and then off to Barcelona with three cars hopefully pounding round the track.

"Just six days of track testing then before we're off to Melbourne.

"And with the race pool, a huge number of those parts are already made, assemblies going together and the challenge of getting everything to the other side of the world.

"So, busy time chasing bits of performance, getting the reliability there and getting a huge amount of hardware to the other side of the world.”

We'll take Cowell's words - even the prudent ones - as meaning that it's simply business as usual at Mercedes.

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.