Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes the performance between Formula One’s three leading engine manufacturers is now “pretty close”.
After delaying the introduction of its new upgraded power unit in Montreal, Mercedes brought its 2.1 specification to Paul Ricard. Lewis Hamilton made the most of its new upgrade as he dominated from pole position to win in France for the first time in his career.
When asked if Mercedes has the best or joint-best engine in F1, Wolff replied: “Very difficult to say, because when you look at yesterday’s data, the quickest car on the straight was Kimi, but we believe he was maybe running a different aero configuration. I believe that all three power units are pretty close together, between Renault, Ferrari and ourselves at the moment. It’s about finding gains without compromising reliability. That’s the trick. That fight is going to continue until the end of the season.”
Since the introduction of the V6 hybrid engines at the start of 2014, Mercedes has been the benchmark in terms of performance and reliability. Its new specification was initially delayed due to concerns over reliability and in France, reliability issues surfaced with Valtteri Bottas suffering a water leak in Friday practice and Force India’s Sergio Perez retired from the race due to an engine-related issue.
Wolff admitted he was concerned by the reliability gremlins which affected Mercedes powered teams in France.
“Yes, because with a new power unit, you are always listening very carefully and looking at the data what is happening, and when one of the six power units has a problem, which we understand was a water leak. Loss of water pressure. So we pitted the car. But you’re listening very carefully what is happening to your own engines.”