Mark Winterbottom says the departure of teammate Will Davison and arrival of young gun Chaz Mostert have made Ford Performance Racing (FPR) a stronger force in 2014.

Davison left the factory-backed V8 Supercars outfit at the end of last season to sign a long-term deal with Mercedes-powered Erebus Motorsport.

He has been replaced by promising 21-year-old Mostert, who only debuted in the championship series last year.

Jack Perkins also joins the FPR stable this season, taking the seat of Will’s brother Alex Davison in the JELD-WEN Falcon. David Reynolds’ car No.55 rounds out the team’s four-pronged attack.

The new-look line-up has Winterbottom excited, admitting the inter-team battles of seasons past – particularly between himself and Davison – had hurt their chances of championship glory.

“Last year, we sometimes took points away from each other when we should’ve worked together better and got the team the best results. And that went for all four guys,” Winterbottom told AAP.

“I think we’ve got a better mindset (this year). Although we’re going to push other, no doubt, I think we’re going to work better as a team to achieve points.

“We’ve got four good drivers and, if we all start battling each other – which last year we saw a few times – all you do is strip points off your team and give it to someone else.

“We need to be smarter on that side and the four guys we’ve got all respect each other, understand each other and I think we’ll benefit more from that.

“As a whole, every one of us should get more points – which is what the team’s about.”

Davison and Winterbottom, who had been teammates since 2011, finished last season third and fourth respectively.

They remained right in the hunt for the crown – eventually won by Holden’s Jamie Whincup – up until the final round in Sydney.

Winterbottom expects just as much fight from Mostert, but: “We’ve got a lot of similarities so I think we’re going to work well together.

“That’s probably changed this year, more so than we’ve had in the past, because he’s purely a young guy that’s had one year of racing and he’s had to work hard to get it.

“He’s going to be fast and he’s going to be a championship contender.

“He’s already a proven race-winner and he’s only 21. There’s no doubt he’s going to push me along.

“But at the same time, he’s going to be good to work with and that’s going to boost both of us.”