Mercedes ability to win races this season isn’t purely down to their superior engine, according to Force India’s chief operating officer Otmar Szafnauer.
Whilst recognising the fact the power unit is ahead of both the Ferrari anMercedes ability to win races this season isn’t purely down to their superior engine, according to Force India’s chief operating officer Otmar Szafnauer.
d Renault unit’s in terms of performance, Szafnauer reckons Mercedes would still be winning races if the chassis were powered by a Renault engine because the team is ahead in other areas.
“To win you have to get it all right,” he told the official F1 website. “Look at Mercedes – I believe that their car would still be good enough to win even with Renault or Ferrari power.
“They have a good aero package, good mechanical package, they understand the tyres, have good drivers and strategy – they’re going to win. Remove the powertrain and stick another one in and they’ll still be competitive.”
Many expected 2014 to be solely based on engine performance, but the Romanian says that hasn’t been the case as evidenced by Red Bull’s wins and the lack of wins for other Mercedes-powered outfits.
“Is it more of an engine formula this year? Maybe a bit more than in the past when the engines were all frozen,” he added. “But is it a complete engine formula? No way. We have the same engine as Mercedes, so do Williams and McLaren – and they’re not winning.”
Despite that, he fully expects rival engine manufacturers to copy the Mercedes design, particularly the split-turbo (see explanation here).
“I don’t understand the strategic direction of the other power units, but I’m sure that in Formula One everyone looks at what everyone else is doing, and if they believe there is something they’ve missed, which they now know [they have, it will be copied]… that’s just how our industry works.”
