Battle of the heavyweights

Former Red Bull Racing chief technical officer Adrian Newey has been somewhat disillusioned with Formula One for many years.

Seen by many as the greatest ever F1 designer, Newey has in the past been critical of the new regulations in the sport.

Even before the new era of V6-Turbo Hybrid Engines began, Newey was complaining that there wasn’t enough scope for designers to make an impact or a difference in Formula One any more.

His assumptions proved correct and were more valid as he made his complaints before the end of Red Bull Racing’s dominance.

Some could argue that he already knew the game was up ?I must say, my fellow F1 technical directors have been like turkeys voting for Christmas.? he told Motorsport Magazine in April 2014.

Comments made once Red Bull and Renault were already struggling to catch the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari.

Nothing has changed over the preceding two seasons and Newey has voiced his concerns that Formula One is being controlled by the two major forces in the sport.

‘Teams like Mercedes and Ferrari, who build engines, have the advantage. It’s for these teams to supply engines to customer teams, and obviously they [the customer teams] don’t get the same software. Then it gets very difficult for the customer teams. he told The Times of India and was quoted by Sky Sports.

‘Right now, we are in a situation where only Mercedes and Ferrari are in a position to win championship titles. That’s the biggest problem in F1, where Mercedes and Ferrari are controlling the sport.’

‘The actual physical engine has to be the same, even for customer teams. Not just the engine, but also the petrol and software.

‘[Formula One could also] increase the number of engine manufacturers competing in the championship. At present, only Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault and Honda manufacture engines. The other possibility is that FIA can bring in a standard engine which will be competitive for all teams.

‘But the present heavyweights like Ferrari and Mercedes don’t want it. So it is a battle.’