Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton has hit out at new rules that restrict qualifying engine modes, suggesting the move is designed to slow Mercedes down and it won't "get the result that they want."
The sport's governing body has sent a letter to the teams indicating that from the Belgian Grand Prix at the end of this month, teams must use the same engine modes for both qualifying and the race.
The move is seen as a slap in the face for the Mercedes-powered teams, who typically gain the most from special qualifying engine modes.
It's likely to further inflame tensions between the teams, who are already squabbling over the Racing Point brake duct fiasco.
Speaking ahead of this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix, Hamilton was defiant, suggesting other engine manufacturers have more to lose than Mercedes.
"Just going back to the fact that at the end of the day, the guys on our team have done such a great job with the engine," he said.
"It's obviously to slow us down but I don't think it's going to get the result that they want, so that's totally fine if they do.
"It's not a surprise to us, they're always trying to slow us down. But it doesn't really change a huge amount for us so it's not a problem."
Hamilton's teammate Valtteri Bottas was also critical of the change, suggesting it could reduce overtaking during races.
"Every team obviously they have different modes, how much they want to risk in terms of wearing the engine and sometimes when they can [turn the engine down]," he said.
"Same for us, we can save the engine if we have margin, and also in terms of strategic things in the race, for drivers many times we are using different modes whether we are defending, attacking.
"So from my side it feels like if it could be the same engine mode for everyone all through the race, I think there could be less overtaking because everyone is just running the same modes instead of playing with them and trying to maximise every situation with sometimes using more power, sometimes less."
from WWOS https://wwos.nine.com.au/motorsport/f1-2020-lewis-hamilton-hits-out-at-fia-decision-to-restrict-engine-modes-qualifying-mercedes/df308567-176e-48b7-8c62-96159402ce53
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