Mercedes count the costs of Formula 1 success

Mercedes lost millions of dollars despite dominating last year's Formula 1 world championship season.

Writing in Blick, veteran F1 journalist Roger Benoit reported that the German carmaker spent $360 million on its grand prix venture in 2014.

But Bild am Sonntag, the major German Sunday newspaper, says that when Mercedes secures the 2015 constructors' cup - perhaps as soon as this weekend - it will unlock as much as $157 million in official 'Bernie' prize money.

A further $100 million is reportedly raised by Mercedes each season through sponsorship, including deals with Petronas, Hugo Boss and Blackberry.

Mercedes' actual annual cost of being in F1 is therefore "only" $86 million, Bild am Sonntag reported.

Blick's Benoit, meanwhile, says the team's 2014 loss totalled $117 million, which is "about the budget of Sauber or Force India, who have filed a complaint with the EU" about the unfair distribution of income.

According to Bild, experts calculate the true value of Mercedes' loss at the equivalent of a $2.6 billion spend in global advertising.

So after revealing Mercedes' accounts last month and showing further bonus payments, F1 business journalist Christian Sylt concludes in Forbes: "It often seems like everything has a price in F1 but when it comes to the benefit Mercedes gains from success on-track it really is priceless."

Last season Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg racked up 16 victories, with Hamilton bagging the drivers' world title and Mercedes cruising to the constructors' world championship.