Mercedes technical boss Paddy Lowe believes F1's power units should remain a battle ground for performance amid plans to close the gap between manufacturers.
The F1 Strategy Group and F1 Commission are meeting on Tuesday to finalise changes to the engine regulations for future seasons. Among the objectives is a plan to bring about performance convergence to within two per cent between power unit suppliers, which is aimed at reducing the gap in performance between the teams.
Since the introduction of new engine regulations in 2014, Mercedes has held an advantage over its rivals, with Ferrari closing the gap significantly in the last two seasons while Renault and Honda remain down on power. But Lowe argues that an advantage found from the power unit is no different to an advantage from any other part of the car.
"The interesting thing that has emerged from [the current engine regulations] is this notion that the power unit or engine shouldn't be a differentiator," he told ESPN. "We had this brief period in Formula One history when engines were frozen, but for me that's the anomaly. The clue's in the name, it's called motor sport for a good reason!
"So why we should think that the motor shouldn't be a differentiator is beyond me, we've just restored the thing that always used to be the case and I think it's absolutely correct. If Formula One should be a competition about sports men and technology, then it should be about all the technology and not just the bit that people feel like."