Mercedes' 2017 Formula 1 budget revealed

The numbers, which only reflect the cost of the team and not engine development at HPP in Brixworth, show just how much the World Champions have had to spend to keep on top.

However, only around £60m of the total was actually paid by parent company Daimler AG, indicating that the Stuttgart manufacturer continues to get an impressive bang for its buck.

Overall turnover, which includes F1 prize money payments, sponsorship and marketing revenue from Daimler, rose from £289.4m to £337.2m. A foreign exchange gain also contributed to that rise. Mercedes points out that its revenue has increased by 194% since 2012.

Daimler marketing revenue, a figure that covers the benefits the team created for the main brand, is listed in the accounts as £90.8m. However, that covers the combined payments made in 2016 and 2017.

Although there is no official split listed for the two years, it’s understood to have been roughly £30m in 2016, and £60m in 2017 – in other words Daimler upped its payment by £30m last year to address the extra car development costs.

In 2016 the team posted a loss of £3.8m, but that was impacted by one-off tax payment, and in 2017 it made a profit of £13.3m.

The figures show that the team officially paid £19.9m back to Daimler AG to cover the lease of engines for the season.

The head count at Brackley in 2017 averaged 912, up from 849 the previous year, which contributed to the wage bill rising by £3.9m.

Mercedes also points out that it enjoyed a 24.7% share of TV coverage in 2017, representing an AER (Advertising Value Equivalent) of £3.4bn for the brand and the team’s partners.