Horner calls for FIA to slow Mercedes down

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has called for the FIA to take action to equalise the performance of rival power units in order to bring the grid closer together.

Mercedes finished 1-2 in Australia, with their nearest rival Ferrari over 30 seconds down the road. Horner has therefore suggested the rules be changed to slow Mercedes down.

The Briton cited various regulation changes when Red Bull dominated as proof that it’s been done before to try and make the grid more competitive.

“When we were winning, and we were never winning to the advantage that they have, I remember that double diffusers were banned, exhausts were moved, flexible bodywork was prohibited, engine mapping mid-season was changed. Anything was done, and that wasn’t just unique to Red Bull but Williams in previous years and McLaren etc.

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“Is it healthy to have this situation? The FIA, within the rules, have an equalisation mechanism and I think it is perhaps something we need to look at.”

Horner ultimately blames Renault for not doing a good enough job on their side, which has made the Red Bull almost undriveable.

“It’s been a tough weekend and a very tough weekend for Renault. The engine is quite undriveable and you can see and hear that from the comments that the drivers are making. The clear evidence was at the start when Daniel got a pretty reasonable start before drivability came in and you can see the holes that are in the power delivery.”

If allowed to continue, Horner reckons Mercedes dominance will put fans off watching the sport, whilst only exacerbating the Formula 1’s other problems.

“I would fear the interest will wane. I didn’t see Mercedes much on the TV this afternoon and I can only imagine that’s because it’s not interesting watching a precession and the producer was looking to pick out other battles in the race. There wasn’t that many cars out there! The highlight for me was to see Arnie on the podium!

“The power unit is so complicated. Looking at a company the size of Honda and the preparation time they’ve had, to come here and be so far off the pace at the back of the grid – it demonstrates how hard it is. Maybe these things are just too complicated. We’ve made life complicated and off the back of that is cost and off the back of that is why teams are in trouble – Manor couldn’t even start their car. How right is that?”