In its latest accounts, Mercedes (www.mercedes-benz.co.uk) has revealed that the production of the V6 turbo engines used by its championship-winning F1 team is contributing around £111.7 million to the UK economy.

Lewis Hamilton steered Mercedes to a fourth consecutive F1 title last year, and although it races under the German flag, both the team and its engine-manufacturing division are based in the UK.

The engines are designed, developed and built at a dedicated factory in ‘Motorsport Valley’ in Northamptonshire, where the engine division alone had total costs of £126.9 million in 2016.

The accounts state that “the company now employs 571 staff and contributes over 88% of its total expenditure within the UK”.

The engine division deals with nearly 1,500 UK-based companies, including designers, equipment manufacturers and haulage firms.

The engines power not just the Mercedes team but also the Force India and Williams teams. Leasing fees are received by Mercedes, with parent Daimler providing the remainder of the engine division’s revenue, which fell to £140.4 million last year.

After paying an £11.4 million tax bill, it was left with a £1.5 million net profit.

The revenue of the F1 team itself increased by 35.7% to £289.4 million, fuelled by a boost in prize money from winning the F1 title the previous year.

However, its costs rose by 10.7% to £274.9 million, due largely to changes in the F1 regulations. After paying £15.9 million in tax, the team made a £3.8 million net loss.