Mercedes engine again the most reliable, but only in the Mercedes itself

To finish first, you first need to finish. It is a cliché statement, but one that conceals a painful truth. Mercedes are supreme in the hybrid era and that is mainly because the team manages to put an extremely reliable engine on the grid every year. In years where some say Ferrari had a faster engine, Mercedes still easily won the title.

In 2020, Lewis Hamilton's team was again the most reliable, according to figures from Auto, Motor und Sport. The publication explains that this lead over the other teams is, of course, reflected in the reliability of the engines. "It gives the engineers breathing space when it comes to development. They are not forced to make the car faster at risk". And that is clearly evident. Last season Mercedes had only one failure.

No progress by competitors

Yet the number of Mercedes' failures does not tell the complete story of its engine. Where the Mercedes was virtually a tank, the cars of Racing Point and Williams were damaged a lot more often - even though these teams also use a Mercedes engine. Williams was forced off the track three times due to a technical fault in the engine, while Racing Point had to accept no less than five DNFs due to the Mercedes engine.

In the battle for the title, it also doesn't help that Mercedes' competition is making little to no headway. Ferrari, like in 2019, had to abandon a race three times due to a technical defect and its customer's dropouts also came to the same number: nine in total. The same seems to be going on at Honda, but with a setback for the main team. In 2019 Red Bull Racing had to deal with engine failure twice, in 2020 no less than four times. It is to be hoped that Honda's final year in the premier class of motorsport will be a fine one.