Mercedes must juggle performance and reliability for the rest of the season because any retirement would be "catastrophic" for its Formula One title hopes, chief strategist James Vowles said Thursday.
He added that he was confident recent engine changes, which came with penalties, for both seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and teammate Valtteri Bottas would pay off in the end.
Hamilton is 12 points behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen with five races remaining while Mercedes is 23 points ahead of Red Bull in the constructors' championship after last Sunday's U.S. Grand Prix.