Rob Smedley: “Power units are reaching performance parity”

The coordinator of the engineers of the Williams, Rob Smedley he stated that the power units of the various manufacturers are close to parity.

The advent of the new V6s in 2014 has so far been characterized by an embarrassing superiority of Mercedes, however the Ferrari has had some improvements, like the Renault and also the Honda is trying to catch up after starting a year late.

“If we take qualifying as an example, I believe that there is still a small advantage and therefore the level equality is not very noticeable. But if we take top speeds into account, there are no marked differences, even taking DRS into account. Now there is parity among the top cars.”

Smedley also has words of praise for Honda, which is going through a troubled return to F1 with power and reliability problems, however the Englishman believes that the Japanese manufacturer is not as far away as is thought.

“Everyone is doing a great job. Honda still has a gap but it's not a drama considering they started a year late. Furthermore, the difference is not as much as many believe.”

“In any case, the differences between the Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault engines have narrowed reasonably.”

In any case, the FIA has decided to take precautions in case the gap is still very large, in fact some measures are planned for 2017 to performance convergence, as well as a removal of the token system for PU updates.

There will also be additional limits on weights, dimensions and supercharging pressures, but from 2018 cost control measures will be put in place.

The FIA ​​will also implement annual measurement systems to ensure that its objectives are achieved.

Stefano Rifici(@SedyBenoitPeace)