The controversy is back to fill the fields of the exciting Formula 1. In a recent interview, Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton hinted that his former team, Mercedes, could be benefiting from a ‘party mode’ during qualifying. This claim has been quickly dismissed by McLaren driver Lando Norris, who labeled the theory as implausible.
So far, Mercedes has demonstrated a clear dominance in this season’s qualifying, accumulating surprising times and regularly increasing their lead with each lap. Specifically, the Silver Arrows have recorded an average gap close to six tenths in Q3 sessions.
Hamilton recalled that during his time with Mercedes, the team had a very aggressive engine map for qualifying, a term he himself called ‘party mode’. In his words: “Our qualifying mode is the most fun; it should be the ‘party mode’.”
However, it was from mid-2020 onwards that the FIA restricted the modification of engine settings during qualifying and races, and this regime remains in effect today. Hamilton has stated that despite this regulation, he believes Mercedes may have found a way to boost their engine power when needed the most.
In a post-qualifying interview at the Chinese Grand Prix, Hamilton stated that Mercedes’ advantage during qualifying is noticeable with a ‘mode’ that is not accessible to other teams, and that this may explain the performance difference between qualifying sessions and races.
Nevertheless, Lando Norris firmly rejected these claims, commenting: “We don’t have that. Sometimes, when you’re too far away, you can create things in your head.” This response highlights the competitiveness among drivers and teams in a championship as intense as Formula 1.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
