Mercedes' company accounts have revealed a loss of £22.3 million for the 2015 Formula One season where it successfully defended its Drivers’ and Constructors’ world championships.
This actually marks a noticeable improvement from 12 months ago when Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd, the company name of the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team, posted a loss of £76.9 million for 2014.
According to Autosport, the annual report read that the losses were “within the pre-defined parameters set by the shareholders” with motorsport boss Toto Wolff saying that Mercedes “exceeded expectations yet again” in 2015 and was "able to maintain or improve upon the high standards set during the record-breaking 2014 season.”
Last year saw Mercedes extend its dominance in the 1.6-litre V6 turbocharged era. Lewis Hamilton won 10 grands prix en route to his third world title, while team-mate Nico Rosberg claimed six races to finish runner-up again, with the team comfortably retaining its Constructors’ title.
UK news agency Reuters says Mercedes’ improved financial results came from an increase in turnover of £66.3m, which derived from extra sponsorship revenues and more money from F1’s commercial right holder after its first championship double.
Meanwhile, operating costs were reported to have risen £8.1m, “mainly due to inflationary increases in salary costs”, while there was “a decrease of £4.1m in consortium tax relief claims”.
“Now we can see that the company is reaping the rewards on the business side, like we have done on the track for the past seasons,” Wolff added.
The now triple world champions expect revenue flows based on sporting performance to be “significantly increased” from 2016 onwards as the team has continued to dominate the sport and met targets that have triggered a bonus from Formula One Management.
“The challenge for the future is to continue to compete for the championships in every season, whilst also continuing the recent commercial improvement,” the report pointed out.
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