Red Bull team principal Christian Horner believes the performance advantage enjoyed by Mercedes and its customers is putting some fans off the sport.
During 2014, it was clear that Mercedes hybrid-V6 was some way ahead of its rivals, particularly the Renault unit ran by Red Bull. That played a key role in Mercedes’ dominance.
It looks likely that 2015 will see more of the same, and that’s a major concern for Horner who reckons performance parity would make for better racing and therefore attract more fans.
“I think it’s important we have good racing and obviously the closer the field is, the better the racing will be,” he told City AM. “I think that’s the most fundamental thing that fans appreciate.
“The power unit at the moment is a big performance differentiator. I think the gap between the best and the worst needs to be reduced, and that will automatically create closer racing.”
He’s also concerned by the huge costs involved. At present, the power unit makes up between a third and a quarter of a teams budget and that’s simply too much according to the Briton.
“I think it’s important that we get costs under control, that all teams are viable operating concerns,” he explained. “Obviously the power unit is a big cost-driver so that’s an element that needs looking at with quite a bit of urgency.
“I think they’re the fundamental things and that’s in everybody’s interests. I think there’s a lot going on discussion-wise but, as always, we talk a lot without concluding as much as we should.
“The most important thing that we do collectively is look to try and address the current issues with the power unit in terms of the cost and the burden that’s placing not just on the customer teams but also on the manufacturers themselves. So I think fundamentally that’s the most important thing we need to look at in the very near future.”
