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The view from the paddock on the impact of the ban on ‘party modes’ will have on qualifying and the race; See the Monza standings from 2pm on Sky Sports F1
By James Galloway
Last Updated: 09/05/20 7:06 am
2:03
Sky F1’s Karun Chandhok assesses whether Formula 1 ‘party mode’ engine ban will hamper Mercedes during Italian Grand Prix qualifying
Formula 1 teams will abide by the new rules governing the use of engine power modes for the first time since Saturday’s qualifying session at the Italian GP.
From now on, the cars will have to use the same single engine mode from the start of qualifying to the end of the race, whereas previously the drivers could switch between higher and lower settings.
It means that what were previously called ‘party modes’, for example the top setting used for extra power at the end of the ranking, is now banned.
So what impact, if any, will it have on the pecking order?
Mercedes has dominated the standings this season, clinching all seven pole positions and five consecutive front-row blocks, and has regularly been able to increase its gap over the chasing group from the end to Q2 and the decisive Q3 phase of pole position by deploying its maximum powerful mode.
1:16 Red Bull’s Christian Horner spoke with Simon Lazenby and Martin Brundle about several of the big issues in the sport, including changing the rules of engine mode.
Sky F1’s Jenson Button said: “It’s a good thing, and it will bring everyone closer together.”
“Teams like Mercedes have a better ‘party mode’ for qualifying, so there will be a bigger change, but it won’t be enough to bring Red Bull up with them in qualifying.
“But it also makes the race a little more interesting because Mercedes can’t just go and turn off the engine when they get a good lead. They have to keep the same mode during the race.”
Sky F1 live Italian GP schedule
When and where to watch Monza qualifying and race live on Sky Sports this weekend.
Given that Mercedes is believed to have the most powerful top mode among the four F1 engine makers, the expectation has been that they have more to lose than most when it comes to qualifying in particular.
However, neither the drivers nor the leadership of the world champions have been particularly disturbed by the change, and even suggested that they might win relative to their rivals in the race.
“Clearly the engine mode was something we performed particularly well at,” said Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff. Sky Sports F1. “If they take that away from us, we’ll see tomorrow how much effect it really will have.
“But on the other hand he is going to turn towards us on Sunday in the race. We will win a lot of time in the race.”
4:44 Lewis Hamilton says he is unsure of the real reasons the FIA has cracked down on the engine mode setting.
Six-time world champion Hamilton, who set the pace on Friday in a Mercedes double, said: “It affects qualifying a little bit, but not massively. It turns things around for the race.
“You should be in a stronger mode for a lot longer, so it should be a faster race. But reliability doesn’t happen, so maybe it will push people on reliability, so we have to keep working on that”.
In fact, the impact that the FIA technical directive could have on the reliability of the engines during the race has been pointed out by more than one driver.
“It’s going to be very interesting to see how other people handle that during the race,” Racing Point’s Sergio Pérez said.
“You might see a couple of engine bumps on Sunday. I think the engines can be maxed out so it will be very interesting as you can only use one engine mode.”
McLaren boss Andreas Seidl said they were intrigued by the results of the change on the track.
“I think to some extent every team has, or had, a sort of qualifying mode and race mode, but we don’t know how big this gap is between and for every engine manufacturer,” he said.
“We are interested in how it will develop and also what the racing power is for each team. We will find out on Sunday.”
What do the others say?
Carlos Sainz, McLaren: “Renault and we had a pretty solid qualifying mode, which makes us look really good at times in qualifying. So I think it’s going to affect us.”
Max Verstappen, Red Bull: “For me it’s not a bad thing. I don’t think Mercedes will suddenly be much slower. We won’t lose that much, they will probably lose a bit more, but they still have so much advantage in qualifying that it will be enough for them to stay ahead.
Lando Norris, McLaren: “In the classification it will be more even, 100%.”
Karun Chandhok, Sky F1: “Unfortunately I don’t see the pecking order changing. They all have slightly different modes that they have for sorting and the difference we’re talking about is a tenth or two tenths.
Mattia Binotto, Ferrari: “The Technical Directive has certainly affected all the manufacturers of power units, but perhaps not all in the same entity. As far as Monza is concerned, I think that what will be used here is not too far from what already we are using in the past in qualifying and that will be for the entire race distance, obviously. “
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