McLaren on ban qualifying mode: "Mercedes will continue to be the benchmark"

From the Belgian Grand Prix onwards, the FIA wants to ban the qualifying mode. The international motorsport federation wants to reduce the difference between Mercedes and the teams behind it, but at McLaren they have no doubt that the Brackley power unit will remain the best in Formula 1. 

The McLaren team still drives the Renault engines, but from 2021 the Woking race stable will be a Mercedes customer team. With this, McLaren hopes to definitively close the gap to the top teams.

"I think whatever the impact of the rule change: With the capacities and capabilities of Mercedes, they will continue to be the benchmark for the modern hybrid era", Zak Brown is quoted by the German Motorsport-Total.com. 

McLaren relies on Mercedes

The CEO of McLaren is also not afraid that his race stable will have a less powerful engine than the factory voice of Mercedes itself. "As a customer, the most important thing for us is that we get the same modes - no matter what the rules are. I have every confidence in Renault and Mercedes that they treat their customers the same as the works teams."