Mercedes chief: "They are developing faster than we are at the moment".

Since this year's Belgian GP, it is no longer allowed for the teams to use a 'party mode' during qualifying on Saturday. Mercedes now says that this ban has brought Red Bull Racing one step closer.

Ban on party mode brought Red Bull forward

In F1 you can only use one engine position during qualifying and the race at the weekend. This means that you cannot reduce the power of the engine on Sunday after qualifying, eliminating the use of 'party modes'.

The expectation was that Mercedes would be hit hardest because the team was always dominant on Saturdays. Mercedes leader Andrew Shovlin now admits that Red Bull Racing was indeed able to take a step because of the ban.

Red Bull develops faster than Mercedes

In the meantime, Red Bull is also continuing to develop rapidly. Shovlin says to Racefans.net: "During the year they caught up with us. The ban on changing engine settings has certainly brought them a step closer.

"I think they are developing faster than we are at the moment. Frankly, we have seen that in most of recent years. Usually they don't start as fast as we start, but I can't think of a year in which they weren't very close to us in the end."

So for Red Bull, the ban on party mode helped, according to Shovlin. But it is not entirely clear whether it has made qualifying a lot more exciting. Red Bull seems to be closer in the final qualifying sessions, but Max Verstappen has not yet managed to beat both Mercedesses this season.