Verstappen: Red Bull confused after being deemed to have best engine
· Yahoo Sports
Max Verstappen says Red Bull are surprised and confused after being deemed to have the best Formula One engine in a ruling which will allow rivals including the dominant Mercedes to make upgrades to their package.
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Despite having won all six races so far this season, Mercedes will – under the ADUO (additional development and upgrade opportunities) system – be allowed to make an upgrade while Red Bull, who have just 72 points to Mercedes’ 244, will not.
The FIA has judged the pecking order of the grid’s power unit manufacturers, based on the power output from the non-electrical part of the engine and Red Bull’s has been deemed the most effective.
That means that the other manufacturers will be granted additional engine upgrades on a sliding scale – Mercedes receiving one upgrade and Ferrari, Audi and Honda given two as they are four per cent adrift of Red Bull.
Lewis Hamilton was the first to reveal the results to Sky Sports following the Monaco Grand Prix, while Sky report to have seen the document confirming the outcome.
The result has come as a surprise to many and has not yet been made public, with the FIA confirming all the information is in order before doing so.
Verstappen says his Red Bull team, which produced its own engines in partnership with Ford for the first time this season, are speaking with the governing body to understand the ruling.
“I think we were all a little bit surprised with that news. I guess that’s why we are talking to the FIA now to see what happened there and how they came to that conclusion. That’s what they are looking at,” Verstappen said ahead of this weekend’s Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.
“We just feel surprised because we don’t feel like we are the best. It is super impressive what they have done – we are definitely not the worst out there.
“In such a short timeframe, what they have done overall, it’s nice to be a part of it and see the drive of the people and what they want to do.
“In that way we are proud but also confused at being portrayed as the best because we don’t feel like that.”
The Dutchman has been the fiercest critic of the sport’s new rules, which see a 50-50 split between electrical and internal combustion engine power, even suggesting he may walk away from F1.
On Wednesday it was announced that changes would be made from 2027 which would see more power generated by the internal combustion engine and less from electrical, increasing further from 2028.
Verstappen says it was a positive step, adding: “I think it was nice to see that changes are being made for next year.
“I would have hoped that next year will be what we are getting in 2028 but I also understand that sometimes there is politics involved for that.
“At least the changes are heading in the right direction, that’s a good thing.”