Toto Wolff warns of F1 'precedent' over negligible difference

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has warned F1 it is in danger of setting a major precedent if changes to the power unit rules are made at such a late stage.

With the introduction of new PUs for this season, Mercedes has found itself embroiled in a row over compression ratios, related to the efficiency of the internal combustion engine.

Wolff has made it abundantly clear that the new Mercedes PU complies with the regulations and that it runs at a ratio of 16:1 when measured at an ambient temperature. In higher temperatures, however, it runs at a more powerful 18:1, to the anger of its rivals.

The row was one of the dominant themes of last week's first pre-season test at the Bahrain International Circuit.

There are hopes a definitive resolution will be made before the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in early March, but as to which way a verdict will be delivered is not known.

Asked by RacingNews365 to quantify the difference between the two ratios, Wolff replied:  "A few horsepower. In England, you would say a couple, so two or three."

Suggested to Wolff that it was 'almost negligible to make any major difference', he replied: "It is, yeah.

"It's more, what is the precedent we are setting? What are the complications of introducing a new rule? How do you monitor it? In which way do you adjust it, if you feel the need to adjust? How will it influence ADUO, the engine balancing system?"

ADUO refers to Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities, which is a regulatory mechanism designed to prevent engine performance imbalances.

"Because after six months, everybody who believes he's in ADUO and has the chance to catch up, you could immediately start to look at compression ratio and develop the engine completely differently, and you would have the possibility of changing your engine," he added.

"So unknown consequences, an unknown quantifier, remain."

Wolff naturally hopes justice will prevail, and the right call will be made, even under the 'super majority' rules which define decision making.

If the other four PU manufacturers - Ferrari, Audi, Honda, and Red Bull Powertrains - as well as the FIA and F1, vote against Mercedes, it will be forced to make changes. As a rule, the FIA and F1 always vote in tandem.

"When there is a super majority, the four other engine manufacturers, plus Stefano [Domenicali, F1 president and CEO] plus Mohammed [Ben Sulayem, FIA president, then you could say, 'Okay, this is not a ganging up anymore against one supplier'," he said.

"I believe that Stefano will always look at it from the outside of the teams' gamesmanship or manipulation."