Mercedes F1 chairman is adamant that the team's star drivers do their share of Pirelli tyre testing ahead of the 2017 season when the all new wider tyres are being introduced.
Up until now Pascal Wehrlein has been tasked with testing for Mercedes, but Lauda wants Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg to do mileage on the new tyres.
However it is well known that both drivers are averse to sacrificing their 'downtime' with the tedium of testing.
Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff backs Lauda, "You can always learn something, even if it might be limited in a tyre test."
"Frankly, Niki has insisted and it is important that the regular drivers test. They are the fastest in this car, more experienced and can do better than a reserve driver in helping Pirelli with feedback.
As a result both Hamilton and Rosberg will now be on duty on 12 and 13 October, for the next Pirelli test in Barcelona.
Ferrari have used their regular drivers, Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen, to carry out the 2017 Pirelli tyre testing, while Red Bull have both Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo scheduled for their test days in November, at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.
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