Party Mode F1: Lewis Hamilton is disappointed with the rumours of a ban on ‘quali mode’, but says it won’t affect Mercedes in any way.
After reports coming in of FIA planning to ban “party mode” after the Spanish GP, drivers are putting in their thoughts on it. The most controversial statement has come in from the reigning champion Lewis Hamilton.
He alleges the ban is being enforced to show his team Mercedes down, and that they are used to it. He also expressed confidence that it won’t have any significant impact on their performance.
“It’s not a surprise, they’re always trying to slow us down.”
“But it doesn’t really change a huge amount for us so it’s not a problem. The guys at our team have just done such a good job with the engine,” he continued. “It’s obvious to slow us down but I don’t think it’s going to get the result that they want. But that’s totally fine if they do it.”
Teammate Bottas believes the ban on Party Mode F1 will restrict overtaking
Valtteri Bottas went on to question how much the rival teams are benefiting from this mode. Earlier, Red Bull’s Christian Horner suggested that Mercedes are much quicker than them in qualifying than the final race.
But, Bottas believes every team has their own “different kinds of modes” which assist them in racing. He concluded by suggesting the ban could lead to less overtakes in race scenarios.
“It’s impossible to know with other engine manufacturers how much they can actually gain when they put it all out in qualifying and if we’re actually gaining more or not. We are not panicking about it. If the regulation comes then it’s same for everyone.”
Read more: What is the Party Mode in F1?
“Every team obviously has different modes, how much they’re going to risk in terms of wearing the engine and sometimes when they can – and also the same for us – save the engine.”
“So from my side it feels like if it would be same engine mode for everyone all through the race, there will be less overtaking because everyone’s just running the same modes instead of playing with them and trying to maximize the situation, sometimes using more power, sometimes less.”
It remains to be seen if the FIA make the rumours a reality, and what impact it can have on the teams. Bottas could be right with this assessment, though. If all the teams race in the same engine modes, then the races could lose the thrill of overtaking, which is the highlight of any Formula 1 Grand Prix.
