Triple world champion Niki Lauda says he is frustrated to see Mercedes not getting the credit it deserves for trying to help Formula One against its best interests.
The German constructor has been comfortably dominating the sport in the latest turbo era, securing two championship doubles, 32 wins, and 36 poles since 2014.
Mercedes has recently came under repeated attack from F1 commercial rights boss Bernie Ecclestone, who is wary of its growing influence as it supplies four of the 11 teams currently enrolled in the championship.
Despite Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff saying engine manufacturers could not afford to be charitable, the Stuttgart-based constructor agreed last January on a framework for lowering the cost of its power unit.
“We are losing money on the new price the FIA has agreed for engines,” Lauda told The Daily Mirror. “We had to accept that to help the sport. Bernie [Ecclestone] doesn’t want to depend on manufacturers’ engines, but Mercedes are part of the F1 family. And the rest are always saying ‘we don’t like you’. How can this be?”
Now a Mercedes non-executive chairman, Lauda also points to the double world champions’ willingness to endorse a relaxation of the engine regulations, which had initially blocked off certain areas of the power unit from development.
“Limitations on engine development have been abolished to help rival teams like Honda catch up,” the 67-year-old added. “Something else we agreed but is against our interests.
“We do everything we can to help, all against our own, competitive interest because we see the bigger picture. But everyone else just protects their own position.”
With Mercedes’ dominance also accused of driving F1 fans away, the manufacturer’s works outfit has decided to relax team orders between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg in 2016. Explaining the decision at the company’s motorsport kick off event last Friday, Wolff declared “we owe it to Formula One to let them race.”
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