Mercedes believes three-car teams would be the best way to ensure young talent does not miss out an opportunity to make it to the very top of Formula One.
Alongside its race drivers Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes has Force India driver Esteban Ocon, former Sauber driver Pascal Wehrlein and Formula 2 championship leader George Russell under contract. All three drivers are facing uncertain futures, with Ocon likely to be replaced by Lance Stroll at Force India, Wehrlein returning to DTM this season after two years in F1 without an obvious route back and Russell looking set to win F2 this year but with no guarantee of an F1 drive in 2019.