Formula 1 | Mercedes, Cowell specifies: "The reduced number of power units will not penalize performance"

Despite the small controversy sparked a few days ago (the move to three power units is madness.ed), Andy Cowell is not worried about the performance of the cars next season. According to the head of the Mercedes HPP engine department, the seasonal development will be similar to that of past seasons, however reaching far higher powers than in the past. Cowell, in fact, explains that the reliability process progressed gradually, working step by step on the components of the power units. Engine life will certainly be a key factor, but decreasing units will not cause a drop in performance.

Here are the words of Andy Cowell: “The regulations in 2018 state that we should run seven GPs with just one power unit. Without a doubt we are talking about a serious development and this is requiring long-term preparation. Many, however, underestimate the fact that the duration of our components was gradually increased until the new regulation was reached. We are talking about something that happened progressively."

“We are far from the era of qualifying engines. We started this process by keeping the same unit for a weekend, except for several Grands Prix. This, however, did not slow down the development and increase of powers. The only thing that was different from the past was reliability. In practice nothing will change because we will be able to find the right balance in this situation too" he added.

Roberto Valenti