Former Formula 1 race engineer Rob Smedley has told Motorsport Week that Mercedes will be “fairly comfortable” in its belief its controversial power unit is legal.
The Silver Arrows‘ engine, built in line with the new technical regulations, has been the talk of the sport over the winter.
With compression ratios capped at 16:0 in ambient temperatures, the Brackley-based squad decided to use the wording of the new rulebook to ensure it complied, but could reach a different ratio when in use.
Its rivals have called foul on the PU, and as a result, the FIA has decided to close the loophole with a mid-season rule change, which sees the measurements taken on both ambient and ‘operative’ temperatures, which is 130 degrees, from June 1, by which time just seven of the 24 races would have elapsed.
This means that the advantage that Mercedes is expected to gain through it could be effectively rendered useless by the time of Round 8 – the Monaco Grand Prix.
Whilst unwilling to commit on whether the PU is legal or not, Smedley indicated some degree of sympathy with Mercedes.
“That’s the nature of the game isn’t it? Especially when you when there’s a big ruleset change, you’re always looking for that edge, that area in the regulation that no one has really spotted,” he told Motorsport Week in an exclusive interview before the rule change was announced.
“I don’t represent the governing body, so it’s not really for me to give an opinion on whether I think what Mercedes have done is legal or not.
“How it will be playing out, it doesn’t surprise me at all that all the other teams will be trying to get this closed down, that’s also the nature of Formula 1, it’s the nature of any kind of sporting entity that the competitors will will do everything they can to gain a competitive advantage, so it’s no different to Mercedes’ competitors trying to get this closed down, as they themselves [are] trying to find some advantage that nobody else has got.”
“It’s just another way of gaining traction, with respect to your competitor, so I’m not surprised at that.”
Smedley: Mercedes would have ‘taken different course of action’ if it doubted PU legality
Toto Wolff was adamant that the PU was legal, telling media including Motorsport Week that the discontented PU manufacturers should “get your s*** together.”
And Smedley believes that it would have opted not to run such a risky element of its engine had it not been categoric about its compliance with the rules.
“I think that Mercedes have a position on this, they have a very clear position on this but they will also be doing that [in a way that they] don’t make any mistake either, doing it with counsel from the FIA.
“The FIA can’t give them a definitive position but there will certainly be a lot of dialogue between all of the teams and the FIA and that is very true for Mercedes and the FIA.
“They won’t just be sat here going out on a limb, they’ll be fairly comfortable that their position is legal, otherwise if they had any inkling of doubt they would be taking a different course of action.”
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