© Wri2 - Maurizio Arrivabene (Ferrari) and Toto Wolff (Mercedes)
REVENGE IN THE AIR?
These measures are sure to be welcomed by Red Bull – but also Mercedes, which has been monitoring Ferrari’s performance gains this year. The German manufacturer has already sought clarification from the FIA in areas where it suspects the Italian team to take advantage of potential loopholes. The method is not new, as shown by Ferrari sending a letter to Charlie Whiting over the winter to get the FIA’s feedback on suspected trick suspension designs.
According to Motor Sport Magazine’s Mark Hughes, and Auto Motor und Sport’s Michael Schmidt, samples collected after this year’s Canadian Grand Prix revealed anomalies on cars fitted with the same power unit. This would have resulted in Budkowski sending the new directive on the Tuesday before the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
As one can see, the Mercedes/Ferrari rivalry does not limit to banging wheels on the black stuff. Could it be that Mercedes has joined Red Bull in the fight against oil burn tricks in order to retaliate against Ferrari’s questioning the legality of its suspension design during the off season? Perhaps this is just jumping to hasty conclusions, but stranger things have happened in F1.
© WRi2 — Marcin Budkowski and James Allison (Mercedes)
Click here for more technical features
