FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis has highlighted the monumental challenge awaiting F1 teams next season, as the championship embarks on a new era of regulations.
Both the chassis and power unit rulebooks have been rewritten, providing a considerable step into the unknown.
Whilst considered a great equaliser and an opportunity for pecking order mobility, Tombazis was quick to point out that field spread should be expected, something that is often the case with a regulations change.
The grid has grown increasingly close in recent seasons, to a previously unseen degree, with oftentimes less than - or little more than - a second separating the entire pack on one-lap pace.
That will change, but reliability and varying pace across the pack will also become bigger factors, as underlined by Tombazis when speaking to PlanetF1.
"Invariably, a new regulation will have a wider spread initially. That is part of the game," he said. "It will also have more variable performance initially, meaning there will be some ups and downs as people learn the new regulations."
How the pecking order will shake out is already being heavily speculated, particularly when it comes to power unit performance.
When engines last changed, in 2014, Mercedes stole a march on the opposition, setting up three years of near-unimpeachable dominance, and a run of eight consecutive constructors' championships.
The German marque is expected to again be the benchmark next season, but Tombazis insists the picture is not a clear as often suggested, at least to the motorsport governing body.
"The FIA doesn’t have access to the people’s horsepower or downforce in the wind tunnel or the exact performance they’re going for," he added. "We don’t know that.
"It’s not part of the regulation that we can have access to this data, for obvious reasons. Therefore, exactly who’s doing well and who’s doing badly, I think, is somewhat still very much speculated.
"So all of these speculations that somebody will do particularly well or particularly badly, I think it’s all just that speculation."
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Audi and Cadillac
It has been contended by some that, given the relative step into the unknown and the additional testing as a result, Audi and Cadillac will have the opportunity to surprise people.
The former has already made considerable progress this campaign as Stake, but despite the Hinwil-based squad being an existing team that has been purchased, in becoming a power unit manufacturer as Audi, there is considerable uncertainty as to how it will initially fare.
It is a polar opposite situation at the latter, with Cadillac a brand new entry, but will be a Ferrari power unit customer for its first three seasons, coincidentally taking over Stake's supply.
However, Tombazis believes the "steep learning curve" all teams will be on will be "doubly so" for them, as they take their first steps in F1.
"Clearly, there are some newcomers," he said. "They have a very uphill road to follow and, logically, they will have a steep learning curve.
"It will be a steep learning curve for everybody, of course, because of the new regulations, but for them, it will be doubly so."
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