Last week, there was plenty of talk about the FIA’s plan to ban teams from using ‘special modes’ during qualifying, starting from the Belgian Grand Prix. These modes, also termed as ‘party modes,’ help teams to generate that extra bit of oomph needed to qualify higher on the grid. This is done by tuning the power unit in such a way so as to maximize its output. Many felt that by banning these modes, teams would be able to close the time gap to Mercedes during qualifying sessions. People opine that the likes of Red Bull could perhaps get the chance of winning a pole. However, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff thinks that they are gravely mistaken.
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Contrary to the popular assumption, Mercedes could instead stand to gain from having the ‘party modes’ banned. Wolff said, “We don’t lack in performance on Saturday’s. If Formula 1 were to ban, in season, certain power unit modes then I think it will actually help us in the race.”
According to Wolff, the damage to the power unit will be avoided since the teams will be barred from running high-performance modes in qualifying. This could, in turn, help them to do better in the race. “So five laps of quali mode not being done, gives us 25 laps of more performance in the race” claims Wolff.
That would indeed be a scary prospect. As it is, Mercedes have dominated races left, right, and center. So the last thing their rivals need is to see them get even stronger.
What did Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton make of the proposed plan to ban special engine modes?
Lewis Hamilton was fairly blunt in his assessment. According to him, the move only serves to hinder Mercedes, but in the end, it shouldn’t be problematic. He said, “It’s not a surprise. They are always trying to slow us down. But it really doesn’t change a huge amount for us so it’s not a problem.”
Hamilton, as you’d expect, sits atop the Drivers’ championship leaderboard with 132 points. He’s 37 points clear of second-placed Max Verstappen, looking well set to equal Michael Schumacher’s record of 7 championship titles.
Can anyone put a stop to his dominance? Or will he continue to crush the competition? We’ll soon find out when the action resumes at Spa on the 30th of August.
