Laurent Mekies lays out Red Bull’s exact stance on the alleged ‘engine tricks’. Mercedes have been accused for weeks of deploying a ‘trick’ to raise the compression ratio of their power unit. While Mekies accepts the controversy is certainly not just needless ‘noise’, his team has a single request of the FIA: ‘We just want clarity on what we can and can’t do.’
It was a rumour already stirring the paddock before the Bahrain test days: the alleged Mercedes ‘trick’ that allows them to increase the engine’s compression ratio. It wasn’t only the Silver Arrows thought to have found a way to pick up time when the W17 is on track; Red Bull was also said to have used the ‘trick’. Other paddock sources, however, reported that the Austrians opted not to develop the ‘trick’ any further.
Red Bull is reported to have sided with rivals Ferrari, Audi and Honda in calling for clarification from the FIA. Team principal Laurent Mekies was asked during a media session in Bahrain about his team’s exact stance. “The simple truth is that we don’t really care whether it goes one way or the other,” the Frenchman said. “What we absolutely want is clarity on what we can and cannot do. And that’s what we’re working on together with the FIA and the other engine manufacturers — to get absolute clarity. I have every confidence we’ll reach that point.”
‘No noise’
Mekies was joined at the press conference by James Vowles, team principal at Mercedes customer outfit Williams. According to the Brit, any trick around the compression ratio won’t be decisive in the forthcoming title fight. Mekies, however, didn’t entirely agree with his colleague. “We don’t see it as noise,” the Red Bull boss said. “We believe we need clarity. As we’ve said before, we don’t care whether it goes left or right. But we do need clarity on what we can and cannot do.”
