Mercedes did the research that prompted Red Bull to ask the FIA to clarify the engine regulations in Austin.

At present, and although Ferrari denies it, the prevailing wisdom is that the rules clarification is why the Maranello team's power advantage suddenly vanished two weeks ago.

Max Verstappen even accused Ferrari of "cheating", prompting a furious reaction by Mattia Binotto.

"He pushed a bit too far with that and he knows it," Dr Helmut Marko told Auto Bild when asked about Verstappen's comment.

"But the topic is also very emotional for him," Marko added.

Indeed, while most would like to see Ferrari put up a true challenge to Mercedes' recent title dominance, the issue of fair play is an important one.

Mercedes' Toto Wolff is quoted as saying: "If someone had done something that was clarified by the technical directive, that is a clear foul.

"We are not talking about a grey area," he insisted.

Red Bull's Marko revealed that, amid Ferrari's advantage, it was Mercedes who had looked into the issue of fuel flow measurements in the greatest detail.

"Mercedes had researched in the area and we had the courage to make the official request to the FIA," he confirmed.


✅ Check out more posts with related topics:

6 F1 Fan comments on “Mercedes 'researched' alleged Ferrari engine breach

  1. Lucy L

    Binotto's outburst was theatre - everyone who understands thermo dynamic efficiency understand that physics don't allow the performance increase that the red cars enjoyed for a few races.....Good for Max - SOMEONE needed to say it

    Reply
    • ReallyOldRacer

      IMO Lucy, understanding thermo dynamic efficiency should not be a prerequisite for F1 success. Making the lump produce more power should be the goal, not winning a Shell mileage challenge. As for VER, he is an accomplished driver but nothing during the past five years justifies his entitled attitude.

      Reply
      • Tony Kestian

        I am glad you started with "IMO." Racing engines need to extract as much energy from the fuel as possible if they are to be successful. Max extraction means max thermal dynamic efficiency. Lucy gets it. You? I am not so sure.

        Reply
        • ReallyOldRacer

          Thank you, Tony. Very polite way of telling me that I don't know squat about the subject. You are correct. I incorrectly equated Lucy's comment as just another "we need to be green" blather. Sorry about that....

          Reply

What's your F1 fan opinion?

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Please follow our commenting guidelines.