Red Bull team boss Laurent Mekies has responded to Toto Wolff’s statement that his Mercedes has ‘the strongest engine’ in the field. Red Bull’s power unit was previously designated by the FIA as the strongest on the grid, causing the team to miss out on valuable development opportunities. Mekies, however, reacts calmly: ‘Toto is indeed right, we will see what happens’.
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A striking moment after the Belgian GP. During Toto Wolff’s analysis of the Spa-Francorchamps race, the team boss admitted that Mercedes has ‘the strongest power unit’ in the field. This was despite the FIA previously placing Red Bull’s engine at the top of the engine ranking for the ADUO. “We are doing our utmost as a team. We have the strongest power unit, a strong car capable of winning,” Wolff said, however, to Sky F1.
Although Wolff was referring to the power unit as a whole – not just the internal combustion engine on which the FIA based the engine ranking – it caused surprise in the paddock. Red Bull team boss Laurent Mekies was also asked about the Mercedes team boss’s statements.
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‘Toto is right’
“I think Toto is right,” the Frenchman said. “I also think they have the strongest engine. They certainly had a significant advantage on the straight again this weekend (at Spa-Francorchamps, ed.). But this is not the first weekend; they have an advantage on the straight almost every weekend. This weekend it was a bit more due to the sensitivity of the circuit. So we will see what happens. The second period is coming to an end in Budapest. We will see what happens.” After the end of the second period, the FIA will re-evaluate whether Mercedes is again entitled to new development opportunities for the power unit under the ADUO regulation.
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