Mercedes' Andrew Shovlin says the team "has done Niki proud"

Mercedes' Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin says that he hopes the team has done former non-executive chairman Niki Lauda proud after winning a record six drivers' and constructors' titles in succession.

Lauda passed away earlier this year with kidney problems after a spell of poor health, with an outpouring of emotion from the F1 world immediately after the news was announced.

All at Mercedes say they miss the great Austrian, and Shovlin said after the United States Grand Prix: “Today, we all think of Niki who was such an important part of our team. Losing him was quite a massive blow, particularly to Toto [Wolff] who spent so much of his working life with him, but for all of us as well, because Niki was someone with such a big personality, such a huge figure in our sport and such a friend to the team.

“I think he would have appreciated this – doing it in such fine style this year, he would have seen this as a team at the top of its game. He’d probably be telling us to work on next years car now, but I think we’ve done him proud this season.”