Mercedes Against Engine Parity in F1 - Red Bull

Mercedes-Benz does not want to allow engine parity in Formula One. And that's not an official statement coming from the German carmaker or anything, but a voiced frustration from Red Bull's motorsport advisor Helmut Marko. According to the former Austrian grand prix driver, all manufacturers in F1 agree in principle with engine parity, except for Mercedes.

“It's frustrating. Renault is losing about three tenths of a second per lap, but so far there is no green light (for parity). First we would need an agreement within FOTA, but so far Mercedes is resisting,” said Marko in a recent interview with Austria's laola1.at.

Red Bull are currently using Renault powerplants, which are believed to benefit from 30HP less power than the engines used by Mercedes and Ferrari. In compensation however, it seems the French powerplants are more economical that their counterparts Merc, Ferrari and Cosworth.

The entire discussion about engine parity was amplified in recent weeks, as the upcoming two rounds in the F1 championship – Spa and Monza – feature high-speed layouts that will benefit the teams with stronger engines. And, since the FIA is still committed to the engine freeze rules, nobody can do anything about engine equalization, meaning Renault and Red Bull will start with a disadvantage from the get go.

Knowing such a situation would arose, Red Bull have tried to switch from Renault power to Mercedes engines in the off-season, but the move was not agreed by the German carmaker. Later on, Red Bull officials would argue that it was Ross Brawn who played a major role in Mercedes' refusal, as the Brit had realized that the Austrian outfit would have been truly unbeatable with a Merc engine fitted onto the RB6.

In case the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) discusses the engine equalization topic, all 13 teams would have to agree on it. If a single team says "no", the deal is off. At the same time, the International Automobile Federation (FIA) cannot act on their own as far as engine parity is concerned, as they'd need the unanimous approval of the FOTA.

In case the FIA would take the matter into their own hands and proceed to engine parity in the series, they would most definitely face intense opposition from Mercedes and part of the FOTA, which would likely lead to another political dispute like the one in 2009. So all decisions appear to be interconnected in this case, reason for us to believe the matter will not resolve itself unless Mercedes will back down.