It looks like Mercedes have finally met their match in Ferrari when it comes to engines this season, and F1 racing director Charlie Whiting has confirmed that what the Italians are doing is "perfectly legal."
Ferrari were in control of the championship table, when Sebastian Vettel threw away first place in Hockenheim, and with that, also the first place in both championships. Mercedes are eight points clear in the constructors' championship, and Lewis Hamilton took advantage of Vettel's mistake and is seventeen points clear as well.
Still, Ferrari do seem to have the stronger engine this year, after all the years of Mercedes dominance in the hybrid era. At least, that's what Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said.
“Ferrari has left everyone else behind,” the Austrian told ThisIsF1.
“They have a very good chassis and an exceptionally good engine.”
To battle this, Wolff revealed that Mercedes are currently working on a new spec of the engine, the so-called "Spec 3". However, there are some complications.
“It’s difficult to find more power without sacrificing reliability,” Wolff continued.
“A failure kills you more than a missed tenth of a second.
“We will look at how much power we can bring to Spa [Francorchamps] or Monza and then decide if we can change our plan or not.”
Still, with Mercedes in control again of both championships, and with Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas manning the front row of the Hungarian Grand Prix, things could be worse, right?
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