BAKU (Reuters) - Mercedes added another first to the Formula One record books on Sunday as the only team to win the opening four races of a season with a perfect four one-two finishes.
Ferrari had six successive one-twos in 1952 but the second round of that season was officially the Indianapolis 500, which they did not enter.
Teams in the 1950s also had more entries than today's two cars, with Ferrari filling the top four places in the 1952 German Grand Prix.
Williams started the 1992 season with three successive one-twos, and went on to win the first five races that year with Nigel Mansell.
Mercedes themselves had 12 one-twos in the course of the 2015 season, but were beaten by Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel in the second race in Malaysia.
"It’s amazing that we can break a record in our sixth year, trying to push the boundaries and really trying to stay both feet on the ground and not being too self-confident," said team boss Toto Wolff. "I’m happy for that, it’s fantastic."
Five times world champion Lewis Hamilton and team mate Valtteri Bottas both have two wins and two second places each, with the latter ahead by one point thanks to the fastest lap set in Australia in March.
Bottas won in Baku on Sunday, denying Hamilton a third successive win after Bahrain and China.
"Valtteri’s really, clearly stepped up this year and is really happy in the car and really delivering and driving fantastically," said Hamilton.
"So it’s going to take some really great performances from both of us to out-perform each other."
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London; Editing by Ken Ferris)