Red Bull has cast doubt on claims that Mercedes has nailed the new Formula 1 power unit regulations, believing it will not hold an advantage, attacking its bitter rival.
As the countdown to pre-season testing continues, debate rages over which manufacturer has nailed the complex new power unit regulations.
Mercedes enjoyed a significant pace advantage in 2014 when the previous engine regulations began, clear of the rest of the field for many years at the start of the turbo hybrid era.
The Silver Arrows are rumoured to have once again got a head-start on its rivals, exploiting the engine compression ratio loophole, and is widely expected to the lead the way in Barcelona.
But Red Bull Powertrains’ Technical Director and ex Mercedes HPP employee Ben Hodgkinson has dismissed the claims, believing the hype to be coming from his former team.
Working at Mercedes from its early days until 2022, said the rumours were started to address a lack of competitiveness.
“I think a lot of that talk originated from Mercedes themselves. My gran used to say, ‘An empty can rattles the loudest’,” he said to The Express.
“I think my real opinion, I probably can’t say.
“There’s quite a lot of noise in the press about the fact that it’s believed that Mercedes is going to be the benchmark – a lot of them started by themselves, probably because the driver market is really tough, and they wanted to try to attract people in a car that was currently not performing.
“So, you have to sort of layer it on the political positioning that everyone has to make.
“And then, of course, if you say the rumour enough, it starts being believed as a fact and then people start looking for reasons for it. That’s a bit of a theory as to how it all happened.”
Red Bull relishing the challenge of taking on Mercedes
Hodgkinson, comparing Red Bull Powertrains to his time at Mercedes HPP, believes that actions and results on track will speak louder than words amid the growing friction.
“I just want to get my head down and get on with it, and we’ll let the results do the talking, I think,” he said.
“Mercedes is a very competent power unit manufacturer. I spent 20 years there, so I know it very, very well.
“I was able to make sure that everything that we did here was better than what was done previously.
“I can benchmark myself to history quite well, so I know where that is.
“I’m just looking forward to getting started. I feel like I’ve not been racing for four years. I just want to get racing again, and we’ll see.”
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