Mercedes has suffered a “setback” with the developm🍒ent of its Formula 1 engine ahead of the 2019 season, according to team boss Toto Wolff.

The German manufacturer has dominated the cu♔rrent era of power unit reg♊ulations since their introduction in 2014, with Mercedes taking a clean sweep of five constructors’ and drivers’ world championship titles since.

Ferrari made significant🌼 gains ahead of the 2018 season to close the gap but Mercedes was still able to comeꦕ out on top as Lewis Hamilton claimed 11 victories on his way to clinching a fifth drivers’ crown.

But Wolff revealed the reigning world champions had already encountered some problems wꦇith its engine program🎃me amid talk that Mercedes’ rivals have made progress with the new aerodynamic rules coming into force for 2019.

"These rules have been changed, normally the downforce should be less but the rumours you hear from the paddock is that people have been able to recuperate lots of that," Wolff said at anℱ event for team sponsor Hewlett🎐-Packard. 

“There is a tremendous 💎development racꦺe that is happening as we speak.

"Finding downforce, reducing draꦏg and of course the engine is a very important part, add🐼ing more horsepower to the engine.

“So we are setting ourselves really ambitious targets. We have actually increased the targets six weeks ago because wﷺe heard some rumours that others were doing well.

“We’ve had💟 some gꦬood weeks in the wind tunnel,” Wolff added.

“We’ve had a little bit of a setback on the engine side where we believed the new concept would deliver a little 🎉bit more. But these guys are very ambitious like all of us and so I’m optimistic.

“We will know when th📖e first qualifying session gets underway in Melbourne, this is the moment where everybody shows their cards.”

Mercedes heads into 2019 looking to match Ferrari’s all-time record of six consecutive constructors’ titles, having become just the🌳 second team in history to record five successive world champio🎃nship doubles.

The Scuderia will hope a new driver pairing of Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel can boost its title aspirations, while there is growing confidenc𝐆e in the Red Bull camp about its impending switch to Honda power.

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