The FIA wants to settle the alleged Mercedes engine tricks before the first F1 race in Melbourne. Ahead of the new season the German outfit was suspected of being able to raise the engine’s compression ratio. The team exploited thermal expansion on track and so passed the FIA’s static tests. Several rivals are already lobbying for changes to the regulations.
If Mercedes can raise the compression ratios, that means the power unit can generate more power. Insiders earlier spoke of a significant advantage over the rest of the field. In a new YouTube video FIA figures Nikolas Tombazis and Jan Monchaux confirm the organisation is looking for solutions. The FIA would like to provide clarity before the first race weekend in Melbourne – which takes place the weekend of 8 March.
‘Must remain a fight between drivers’
“Some teams have found ways to raise temperatures as the engine comes up to operating condition,” Tombazis explained. “That is the crux of this new discussion. Jan and I have discussed at length how we can fix the problem. The intention is to close this discussion before the start of the season. We are not looking for controversy,” he stressed. “We want the teams to battle each other on track, not in the courtroom or the stewards’ room. We will try to avoid that at all costs.”
Still, the FIA expects it will be ‘bombarded’ with questions from teams in the coming period. Tombazis continued: “We are determined to make this championship a fight between the best drivers, the best engineers and the best teams, but not a championship centred on interpretation of the rules. We want it to be a championship where both technical competence and driving skill are central, and not one decided by who applies the rules most cleverly.”
