Mercedes massively outspent its rival engine manufacturers according to the now departed Renault F1 boss Jean-Michel Jalinier, who reckons that’s why they have such an advantage.
Jalinier retired from Renault Sport F1 last month, but many believe he’s paid the price for Renault’s struggles, something he blames on investment.
“When Ferrari and Renault are getting similar results, and Mercedes has a significant advantage, the first thing is to look at the level of investment,” he told France’s Auto Hebdo.
“At Renault the same level of investment was maintained, while Mercedes raised the bar very high, investing a lot of money, resources and technology,” he explained.
“As a result, they were much better prepared than us and the Italians who have operated at the known and practiced levels of investment.
“In terms of resources used for this project, it is clear that Ferrari and us invested far less.”
Jalinier estimates that Mercedes had around double the number of employees working on their project once you removed the 600 or so dedicated to chassis and aerodynamic development.
“We are 320 people at Viry, but together with the chassis and the engine there were up to 1,250 at Mercedes. With those resources, it is obvious that you are not confined to one solution but can go with two or even three in parallel during the development phase.”
