Mercedes spends full token allocation on Monza upgrade

© XPB 

Mercedes has spent its full token allocation on a power unit upgrade at the Italian Grand Prix which is designed to help its 2016 engine.

Having been dominant throughout 2015 so far, Mercedes had yet to use any of the seven tokens it had available before this weekend. However, with the championship leaders introducing a third power unit for both Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg at Monza, Mercedes has confirmed it has also upgraded its engine.

"Our drivers will take their third Power Units of the season and it will be a new spec using our remaining 7 development tokens," Mercedes said. "We’ve tactically pulled forward planned 2016 development to learn about a new spec of Petronas fuel out on track!

"The goal? A dash of R&D exploring a new development direction to unlock more performance for the whole Mercedes family in 2016!"

Mercedes is the first power unit manufacturer to use its full token allocation this year, with Honda having used five of its nine tokens, Ferrari three of its ten tokens and Renault yet to use any of the 12 tokens it has available for development.

Renault plans on following Mercedes' lead in spending all of its allocation on an upgrade around the Russian Grand Prix.

Click here for Chris Medland's Italian Grand Prix preview and bold podium prediction. 

2016 F1 driver line-ups so far

F1 drivers' girlfriends gallery

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter