Niki Lauda was eager to see how Mercedes would compete against Red Bull with the same engine, it has been revealed.
Wednesday saw the funeral of the 70-year-old who died last week after battling illness with his legacy celebrated at the Monaco Grand Prix.
Following that Mercedes, where Lauda was the non-executive chairman since 2012, released a tribute video with sporting director Ron Meadows making the admission.
“I remember in the early years that Niki really wanted to give Red Bull a Mercedes engine,” Meadows said.
“His idea was that it would make us a stronger team because then we would have stronger competition.”
In 2015, the Milton Keynes outfit was looking to split from Renault but had to reconcile with the French manufacturer after finding no interest from elsewhere.
“Of course we did not want that and wanted to keep the engine purely for ourselves,” Meadows noted. “It took some persuasion, but in the end, he understood.
“I do understand that he wanted it because he wanted to make us better every day.”
Lauda will now remain an ever-present part of Mercedes with one of the Silver Arrows on the engine cover to remain red in memory of the Austrian’s famous red hat.
