If you imagine a set of scales and on one side you put reliability and on the other you put power output, normally because a engine has to last around 7 races (plus practices for the first one of the season) engine manufacturers will try to balance the scales by getting the most performance while ensuring it will be reliable for its lifespan of 7 races.gcdugas wrote: ↑10 Dec 2021, 01:27So you are saying one move on Max by Lewis in one race is responsible for the dramatic change in form from Brazil onward and not the engine they changed at the exact time in question?holeindalip wrote: ↑09 Dec 2021, 23:38See the speed trap data from the race it wasn’t out of this world as you say, it was all about getting the right drive out of the last corner and setting a proper pass up. He dummied verstappen into making a mistake out of turn one and put him in a bad spot going into the first drs zone…
Moreover, more power equals the ability to run more wing so the trap speed can be adjusted so they gain more over the entire lap. Especially on a twisty circuit like Brazil. On a lower downforce track, you will see the higher terminal speed difference. Even Merc cannot mask the gain as much as they would like and have candidly referred to the new engine as a "rocket engine". So if they are not cheating, and I would prefer to believe they are not cheating, where do we look for the increase in engine performance that coincided with the engine change?
By the end of season after examining used engines they will have a better understanding of how much more they can push the power output without having catastrophic failures.
This engine is expected to do 3 races only, so they can exploit as much power output as possible while sacrificing lifespan because it only needs to last half the time a normal engine would.
There is no cheating happening, as others have also explained there is more going on than just a slightly higher tuned power unit, Mercedes have been on a upwards curve of performance since the Silverstone update package, the set up window has improved dramatically since the Silverstone aero update which improves the balance of the car.
I am by means a expert, so my apologies if my explanation isn't brilliant, I'm just trying to put it as simply as I can for you.
If any cheating was happening Red Bull would be the first to say that the power unit wasn't legal, and they haven't, they keep going on about rear wings as an explanation for the straight line speed advantage that Mercedes has.