Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has sided with Red Bull after the team’s chief Christian Horner called for equalisation measures to rein in the dominance of Mercedes.
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Ecclestone said he agreed entirely with Red Bull’s stance, but added that he didn’t believe the Austrian outfit would pull out of F1 completely.
“They are absolutely 100 percent right,” Ecclestone is quoted as saying by Reuters.
“There is a rule that I think (former president) Max (Mosley) put in when he was there that in the event…that a particular team or engine supplier did something magic — which Mercedes have done — the FIA can level up things.
“They (Mercedes) have done a first class job which everybody acknowledges. We need to change things a little bit now and try and level things up a little bit.”
The team’s motorsport advisor, Dr Helmut Marko, suggested that Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz may pull both his teams out of F1 if changes to engine regulations are not made.
Red Bull have been left frustrated by its under-performing Renault engine, which is said to be down 100bhp on its Mercedes counterparts.
Due to F1’s ‘token system’, team’s can only make limited improvements to its engines in a bid to keep down costs.
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