Mercedes vs Honda Power battle, who has upper hand?

Red Bull dominated by winning five races in a row from Monaco GP to Austrian GP doubleheader, but close out the first half season with just 2 points (1 point if Aston Martin wins Vettel’s Hungarian GP disqualification) from last two races.

Though the first lap accidents have cost them in the last two races, Red Bull appear to have lost some of their performance, especially straight line speed. Lewis Hamilton’s Pole at the last two one-hour qualifying sessions back that argument.

The most obvious explanation for that was the aerodynamic upgrades Mercedes rolled out at Silverstone. But according to Auto Motor und Sport , Mercedes believe Red Bull have been slowed down by an FIA directive regarding the Honda engine.

According AMuS report, “there are reports from the Mercedes corner that Honda have been slowed down by a directive from the FIA. Allegedly, there have been disagreements for four months about how the Japanese [manufacturer] operate their energy management”.

The FIA are said to have denied any such directive, although AMuS add that this “doesn’t necessarily mean much” because “as a rule, corrections to the engine are not made public”.

“The technicians of the FIA discuss them directly with the respective manufacturer. Not even the competitors finds out about it,” the report continues.

Red Bull introduced a new engine with a different spec at the French Grand Prix, which Verstappen won from pole position. Three races later, at Silverstone, the engine was damaged when Lewis Hamilton collided with the Red Bull, ending the Dutchman’s race.

After being given the all-clear, that engine powered Verstappen to P3 on the grid for the Hungarian Grand Prix. But it was then changed before the race, incurring no penalty, after it was found to be cracked.

It leaves Verstappen, who now trails Hamilton in the World Championship by 8 points (pending Vettel’s DS appeal), facing a grid penalty later in the campaign for exceeding the permitted maximum of three engines used in a season.

However, Auto Motor und Sport also claim Red Bull suspect Mercedes have enhanced performance in their engine by improving the cooling system.

“We are driving the same power as in France and Austria. Mercedes has gained performance.” That is denied by the Mercedes. “We have the feeling that Honda has taken a step backwards. Everything is exhausted with our engine.”

The suspicion is said to have been aroused by Hamilton’s pace on the old pits straight at Silverstone compared to Verstappen before their collision, which Mercedes countered by stating the Honda engine was charging the battery at that point and denying they had done anything sinister in their cooling processes.

According to AMuS report, Red Bull suspects that Mercedes cools the air collector (plenum) in certain phases in order to have more power available. Before a qualifying round or the start of the race, this would be allowed, but only with archaic methods. So you can cool down the plenary session with dry ice. But the effect evaporates relatively quickly.

Systematic cooling of the plenary would at least be a gray area or not allowed at all. “Especially if you support the cooler air in the collector for a short time by injecting more gasoline,” says the Red Bull.

The defending champion denies the accusation of increased performance via any cooling measures.

Spa is one of power circuits. Mainly because the speed on the straights plays a decisive role there. A power advantage is half the battle on the Ardennes route. “We’ll stay tuned,” promises Red Bull sports director Helmut Marko.