Former Formula 1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya has made the extraordinary claim that Mercedes may hold an even bigger speed advantage over that of its rivals as previously thought.
The German marque, and its power unit, has been the centre of media attention across the winter, after its apparent use of a loophole in the new rulebook.
Ensuring its new 50-50 V6 power unit’s compression ratio can be measured at 16:1 in ambient temperatures – as per the new rules – it will run higher when hotter.
This is due to ambient being the only temperature that the new rules state PUs will be measured in, and the subsequent supposed exploitation has left other engine manufacturers up in arms.
Despite Red Bull – which also used the same loophole – reportedly deciding to align itself to the other OEMs that were unhappy, it is still fairly likely Mercedes will be allowed to continue as it is, for now at least.
Team Principal Toto Wolff has publicly backed the power unit being “legal” and conveyed comfort with the situation, citing support from the FIA and its president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
Whilst not setting the fastest overall time in last week’s ‘shakedown week’ in Barcelona, Mercedes appeared to hold an overall advantage, clocking more laps than any other team, at a time when reliability is still not a guarantee.
But speaking on the AS Colombia podcast, seven-time Grand Prix-winner Montoya revealed information relayed to him suggests that, despite looking strong, Mercedes were still sandbagging to an extreme degree in the test.
“If you hear what I hear – I think they didn’t show everything by a long shot,” the former Williams and McLaren driver said.
“I’ve heard they can still be three to four seconds faster.
“They worked a reliable program and drove a lot of laps, but if they really start pushing … then it could be very different.”
Could Mercedes-powered teams also benefit from potential PU advantage?
An early projection of the advantage the Mercedes PU could pose was translated into a gap of 0.3s per-lap at the opening round in Melbourne.
There has been a suggestion of a potential protest by the discontented OEMs should this projection translate into reality, as it is likely to set the tone for a 2014-style Mercedes dominance.
Of course, McLaren, Williams and now Alpine are the customers using the same PU, and Montoya questioned just how much they could also benefit from this alleged advantage.
“Some teams will interpret things correctly and some will not,” he said.
“But if Mercedes turns out to be really dominant, will that also mean that all Mercedes teams are in top form?”
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