Toto Wolff has slammed the FIA's budget engine proposal, arguing a balance of performance between the current engine and the new one would not work for Formula One.
After Ferrari vetoed the FIA's plans to introduce a cost cap in Formula One, the sport's governing body pushed forward with an idea to get an independent manufacturer to produce a cheaper alternative to the current engines. However, in order to provide a cheaper product, the new engine would have to be designed to a different set of regulations in order to be able to match the current power units for performance on track.
The FIA has said an equivalency formula would be put in place in order to make sure the two sets of regulations are equal, but Mercedes, which currently has the best engine in F1, argues that would create as many issues as it solves.
"Personally, I think many of us and many of you share the opinion that the 'balance of performance' engine doesn't work in Formula One," Wolff said. "It doesn't even work in any other category. We hear the aggravation in GT racing and it does my head in hearing ideas.
"It's like we are completely stuck, eyes closed, on what happens in other series and the problems around that, that somebody just pulls a rabbit out of his pocket and says, 'why don't we do that?'
"But I'm not surprised to hear - let's call it 'interesting' - new concepts, from around the corner. That happens regularly."
Wolff says he understands the FIA's concerns over the costs of the engine, but believes a solution with the current power unit should be found rather than pursuing the budget engine idea.
"I think there are some legitimate causes, the price is a legitimate question," he said. "Is the price good, low enough for the small teams? And that question can be raised. Is the engine and its concept right for Formula One? That can be discussed.
"But it seems to me that we are going in cycles, that at certain stages we want to be road relevant and the pinnacle of technology, want to attract constructors... But once you have the constructors on board like we have now, four constructors, all sharing the same opinion, then you believe, 'oh, actually we don't want constructors in the sport, we would rather have it like GP2'."