I can't find the video that had Asaki talking about the exhaust materials and not damaging the exhaust along with the regulation change subject, but here is the article that talks about Asaki's mission this year. He talks about being competitive at lower altitude a few times in recent interviews and mentions his goal is meet or exceed Mercedes. But he admits they are still Kings and that they are staring at Mercedes' back and thinking "They are incredible".
auto sport - オートスポーツ - 2020年 8/7号 ・ 8/21号 合併号 No.1534 (日本語) 雑誌 – 2020/7/31
"We won't sit quietly and lose"
もうちょっとパワーを出せる制御もあるものですが、問題もはらんでいます。
"We do have the means to generate a little more power, but it comes with problems."
"The Mission control room designated to carry out the shift to Power Mode"