(Motorsport-Total.com) – Does Mercedes have the best Formula 1 engine and will it be slowed down in the near future by the ADUO equalization system? One might think so after the strong start to the season for the Silver Arrows, but the answer to that surprised many in the paddock in Monaco. Because Mercedes will also be allowed to continue developing its engine.
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Instead, the FIA has determined that Red Bull Ford, of all teams, is said to have the best internal combustion engine in the field. While this should flatter the project, as many did not believe that Red Bull could develop the most competitive powertrain from scratch, it is not good news for Max Verstappen from a sporting perspective.
Because of this, Red Bull is not allowed to develop anything on its powertrain, while the competition is allowed to improve. Mercedes is allowed to make one upgrade to its engine, Ferrari, Audi and Honda even two – so at least Ferrari could catch up a little with Mercedes.
Red Bull with the best engine, but …
After the Canadian Grand Prix, the FIA measured the performance of all V6 internal combustion engines to determine both the benchmark power unit and the deficit of the competitors.
Engine manufacturers receive additional homologation tokens for every two percent performance deficit of the V6 – including additional dyno hours and more leeway in the budget cap – to work on their engines outside the usual regulatory time windows and restrictions.
Formula 1 teams with at least five wins at the start of the season
Red Bull is probably not happy about this decision. Although they reportedly do have the best V6 engine, for many in the paddock this is only one component of a strong power unit. Factors such as battery performance or energy recovery are not taken into account in terms of ADUO, although they also play an important role.
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In addition, Red Bull argues that the peak performance of its engine only occurs at certain RPMs.
Hamilton reveals result in advance
An official announcement was already expected for yesterday, Monday, as the FIA must publish its results 14 days after the Canadian Grand Prix according to the regulations. So far, this has not happened. However, the teams have already been informed internally by the FIA.
Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton had already revealed the decision in Monaco: “I think the news came out either yesterday or today that Red Bull has the strongest engine, Mercedes is in second place and we are behind,” Hamilton told Sky. “So we now have these tokens to try and develop and close the gap.”
“But that’s a project of about eight to ten months, so nothing we can just implement next week. We’ll push as hard as possible to see how we can close the gap.”
ADUO was a hotly debated topic, as it was originally designed to prevent a scenario like Honda in 2017, where a manufacturer dramatically lagged behind the competition. But due to the sliding scale of upgrade opportunities, the battle quickly became political.
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