Red Bull’s Max Verstappen believes it would be unfair to ban the use of Formula 1 engine qualifying modes just because Mercede🅠s is “doing a better job” than its rivals. 

Throughout the V6 hybrid era there has been💯 a suspicion that Mercedes 𒁃has been turning up its engine modes in the final segment of qualifying to extract greater performance over one lap, something that has irked rivals Ferrari and Red Bull in recent years. 

The focus on engine modesꦚ came to l♒ight once more during the season-opening Australian Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton stormed to pole position by 0.7s from Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen. 

Mercedes downplayed the influence of so called “party modes” but Hamilton’s significant leap in performance prompted calls from the German manufacturer’ꦫs cl𒉰osest rivals for F1 to abolish such modes to ensure drivers qualify and race with the same engine settings. 

“It’s quite clear in qualifying they ramp it up, but it has been like this already for the whole era of V6s. It’s nℱot a new story,” Verstappen said🃏 during Thursday’s media sessions ahead of this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix. 

The Dutchman insists he does not favour the suggestion from his own team that F1 engine modes should be restricte🀅d in Parc Ferme before the start of qualifying. 

“They [Mercedes] just do a better job than everyone el🌌se so why should you take it away? It’s not fair to them, but it’s maybe up to F1 to may be change the rules to make it more difficult to keep 🤡developing things and stuff like that. 

“You certainly shouldn’t take it away because ♊they are really♓, really good. It’s unfair to them.”

When told of Red Bull team principal Christian ꦚHorner’s frustration regarding the subject, Verstappen replied: “Well, [it’s the] same for me. 

“But you have to also be honest and you have to be just clear about it they’re just doing a better job than everyone eꩵlse. Otherwise, I think we should just use the same engines. But that’s not what everybody wants.”