Saward: 'They wasted Mercedes engines for years'
F1 News
- GPblog.com
McLaren will run with Mercedes engines from 2021, having made considerable progress in recent years. The question, then, is how quickly they can take advantage of this power source. Or could the switch actually be detrimental?
This question is discussed by Formula One reporter Joe Saward in the Missed Apex Podcast. Saward admitted there will be some disadvantages with the switch.
Switch to Mercedes engines disadvantageous?
"There are some disadvantages as well, because they have to learn new things about the new combination of the chassis with the engine. They don't have the data that other teams have. But they do have more HP than with Renault, so that could be an advantage."
Saward thinks that changing engines could set McLaren back initially, but that over time they will actually become better than before. "Changing engines is not as disastrous as it was before, but it is still complicated technology."
Then there is the question of whether the Mercedes engines really make the difference, or whether it is mainly the combination of the chassis and the engine that makes Mercedes so supreme.
"With Mercedes, the engine is integrated into the chassis, whereas the customer teams have to build the chassis around the engine. So that is a slight disadvantage. In the case of Williams, for example, they wasted years of Mercedes engines," Saward said.