FIA prohibits the qualifying mode: Mercedes largest victim of new rule
F1 News
- GPblog.com
From the Belgian Grand Prix onwards, qualifying mode will be abolished. Where cars until now had different settings for qualifying and racing, this will now be restricted, but what will this really deliver?
Qualification mode is prohibited
On Thursday it became clear that a letter had been sent to the ten Formula 1 teams stating that from the Belgian Grand Prix onwards different engine settings can no longer be used. The teams now have a separate mode for qualifying, for the first lap in the race, for overtaking or defending in the race and saving in the race.
Formula 1 now wants to make this simpler for two reasons according to Auto, Motor und Sport. First of all, the field of competitors has to move closer together, because it has been clearly seen that the Mercedes can make a much bigger jump with the qualifying mode compared to the other engines. So it seems to be a rule to contain the champion of the last six years.
In addition, according to Formula 1, it is also good for the durability of the sport. In this way, engines can last longer and it is also a lot simpler. Where teams are not allowed to touch the cars between qualification and the race because of the parc fermé rules, the engine can be continuously adjusted.
Mercedes is the victim
It will mainly be the Mercedes customers who will be hit hardest. Racing Point and certainly Williams were a lot better on Saturday than they were on Sunday. With an engine setting equal to the race, we'll probably see Williams at the back of the grid all of a sudden and Racing Point will no longer be a danger to Red Bull Racing.
The big question is what happens to Mercedes? Outside the second race at Silverstone, Mercedes was by far the best team and that was not only the case during qualifying. The team has again built the best car and the engine is only one part of it. Red Bull also honestly said that the chassis of Mercedes is a lot stronger.
So during the Belgian Grand Prix we don't have to expect a pole for Verstappen, but the one-second gap will be smaller. Honda and Renault also had a party mode, but it wasn't nearly as strong as Mercedes. Ferrari is happy because they no longer had a party mode and will benefit most from this rule.