With Mercedes' so-called 'party mode' a hot topic of conversation following the Australian Grand Prix, the team has provided some insight into how its power modes are used and when they're likely to be used.
Lewis Hamilton set a new lap record in qualifying which his rivals were unable to touch, leading to claims he used a special mode which provides absolute maximum performance – above and beyond the performance Mercedes rivals are capable of.
Although the team denies having what some have dubbed a 'party mode', they do utilise certain engine modes which provide more power when needed and less when reliability is at stake – however this is common across all four engine suppliers, not just Mercedes.
"The main task of PU modes is to balance performance and reliability. Formula 1 is all about performance, but with just three Power Units per driver in 2018, reliability is increasingly important. This is why the drivers have reduced mileage allocations of the higher power modes," Mercedes explained.
"At Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, we use three basic modes over the course of the weekend – one for the majority of the free practice sessions, one for the majority of qualifying and one for the majority of the race.
"At the start of the race, for example, performance is particularly important, so drivers will choose full deployment to either defend a good position on the grid or try and gain positions in the opening laps. But F1 is about a blend of ballsy on-track passing and tactical strategy, so the drivers will later switch to a recovery energy management mode and charge the battery – just to make sure they can have more energy available for their next attack.
"In terms of engine modes, the setting for qualifying will be the most powerful one. This mode is only required for a few laps each race weekend, and usage varies according to the competitive context – sometimes this qualifying mode will be used throughout qualifying, sometimes only in the final Q3 session."
Mercedes confirmed that all of its customer teams (Force India and Williams) have access to these power modes, not just the works team.
"The available mileage is dictated by what is termed the “phase document”, which defines the limits to which the Power Unit may be used during each race weekend, and which is the same for the works cars and the Mercedes customer teams.
"PU modes are defined when the first set of hardware is tested in Brixworth and the mileage limit is determined by the success of the long-run programme. Some of these are circuit-specific, others are more general. Making the call on which mode to use can either be the driver’s decision, or through the advice of the engineering team – who will communicate over the radio which settings to adjust and which mode to switch to."
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