McLaren believe it will take “more than a couple of years” before Honda and its other engine rivals are able to match the Mercedes power unit.
The Anglo-German outfit looks set to once again dominate the sport after Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg finished more than 30 seconds ahead of their nearest rival in Melbourne.
That’s led to calls for engine equalisation from the Red Bull camp, but Boullier doesn’t agree with such moves and doesn’t necessarily believe domination is bad for the sport.
“I don’t think this [Mercedes advantage] is bad for the sport,” said the Frenchman. “Of course, everyone wants all the cars racing together like we had in 2012, but any technical change in the regulations is opening the door to creating gaps and loopholes.
“I’m not surprised, this is the price you pay if you change the regulations as drastically as has been changed. You have to be patient to catch up.”
He’s not surprised that Honda, which powers McLaren’s MP4-30, is so far behind and he expects it will be years before they’re able to match the dominant power unit.
“In our case, Mercedes has been developing their engine for more than three years, and Honda for 18 months – that’s already a huge part of the answer,” Boullier added.
“For Ferrari and Renault I don’t have any answers, but Mercedes has a good team in place and have done a pretty good job already last year, so you can expect them to do an even better job. I’m not very surprised. These engines still have a lot of potential to unlock, so it may take more than a couple of years to catch up.”
