Red Bull Racing was clearly the fastest on the straights in France and Austria, but the roles were suddenly reversed on the Silverstone and Hungaroring circuits. There are several theories circulating in the paddock, as reported by Auto Motor und Sport Tuesday:
Mercedes claims that Honda has been slowed down by a FIA directive. Allegedly, there have been disagreements about how Honda manage their energy for four months now. When Auto Motor und Sportasked the FIA about it, they didn’t know about a directive against Honda.
Red Bull and Ferrari have another theory about Mercedes’s power gain: allegedly, Mercedes cools the air collector (plenum) in certain phases in order to have more power available. This would be allowed before a quali lap or the start of the race, but only with archaic methods: you are allowed to cool down the plenum with dry ice. But the effect evaporates relatively quickly. Systematically cooling the plenum would be at least a grey area in the regulations or not allowed at all!
Suspicion arised in Silverstone, when Hamilton caught up with Verstappen with a significant power advantage every time before the Copse corner. Mercedes explains this by saying that the Honda PU always went into charging mode at that point. They deny the accusations.
