Back and forth
After Sunday’s Australian GP, a new controversy is emerging within the F1 paddock: that between the ‘customer’ teams that use a Mercedes power unit – in particular McLaren – and the ‘factory’ team from the Stuttgart company. The papaya team principal has in fact hinted, not too subtly, one lack of information provided by Brixworth regarding the use of the new power units. “This is not how it works in F1“the Italian manager let slip at the end of a Grand Prix which saw the only McLaren that reached the finish line, the one driven by Lando Norris, collecting well 50 second delay from George Russell’s Mercedes, winner of the race.
You can’t please everyone
Soon came the sly response from Toto Wolff. The Mercedes boss gave a clear message to the journalists present in Melbourne: an engine manufacturer cannot succeed “please everyone”. “It is clear that when introducing new rules there is a lot to learn – declared the Mercedes team principal – whether it’s a customer using your gearbox or your suspension, or equally your power units, the development curve is very steep. It is never possible to satisfy everyone. But I think the most important thing is to try to provide good service”.
Chapter closed? Hard to imagine. The issue could be back in the news in just a few days in China, where the functionality of the power units could prove even more decisive.
