Red Bull Racing team principal Laurent Mekies has dismissed paddock rumors that his team possesses the strongest engine on the Formula One grid, identifying Mercedes as the clear performance benchmark.
The comments came during the Canadian Grand Prix weekend, ahead of an upcoming evaluation by the International Automobile Federation (FIA).
>>> Edmundo Sosa's Two-Run Homer Lifts Phillies Over Dodgers 4-3
The FIA will assess all power units next week to determine eligibility for the Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO) system.
The framework permits extra development for manufacturers lagging by two percent or more behind the top-performing engine.
Mercedes Leads, Red Bull in Second Tier
Mekies addressed recent political discussions in the paddock, including statements from Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff suggesting only one manufacturer required developmental assistance.
“The game of drawing up a ranking already starts at the tests in Bahrain, but let's not get into that.
The only thing we can deduce from the data is that Mercedes is clearly ahead and that one team [Honda] is far behind,” Mekies stated.
The Red Bull Racing team boss indicated that internal tracking places their operation in a secondary performance tier alongside Scuderia Ferrari and Audi, rather than at the front.
“It is very difficult to obtain honest performance data on the combustion engines from all teams.
I think the overall results probably give the best and most objective picture of everyone's situation.
Internally, however, we estimate that Mercedes' advantage is at least three tenths per lap,” he said.
