Mekies dismisses Wolff's position as the dispute over the ADUO engine escalates.

      "Mercedes is undoubtedly far ahead of most of us."

      Laurent Mekies has responded to Toto Wolff amid a rising political conflict regarding Formula 1's new engine balancing system. The FIA is set to evaluate performance discrepancies among manufacturers based on the ADUO rules – Additional Design and Upgrade Opportunities – which may grant struggling suppliers more development freedom. Wolff has claimed that only Honda should qualify for this, while arguing that the rest of the competitors are already closely matched. However, Mekies disagrees, asserting that Mercedes remains significantly in front.

      "The discussion surrounding the establishment of that ranking has been ongoing since Bahrain, and we are not participating in that," he stated. "We acknowledge that it is a challenging task. We simply share what we observe."

      "What we observe is that Mercedes is definitely quite far ahead for most of us. Additionally, one team, Honda, is particularly lagging behind." Mekies even quantified the gap, stating, "Three tenths, that’s how we assess it internally."

      The Frenchman emphasized that Red Bull does not accept claims that it is exaggerating its deficit to secure additional development freedom. "We’re not trying to go along with that," he reiterated, suggesting that Mercedes might have its own motives for downplaying or concealing its advantage. "Mercedes currently has such a significant lead that they might be tempted to do so – this is understandable."

      At the same time, Mekies recognized that the FIA faces a nearly impossible challenge in evaluating the competitive landscape. "The objective difficulty in determining who stands where, even for the FIA, is substantial. Very substantial," he stated. "The objective complexity of getting it right is significant, due to factors like the combustion engine compared to the battery and fundamental choices – a small turbo, a large turbo, exhaust gas blowing or not."

      "It’s not an enjoyable task to undertake that." Despite Red Bull trailing, Mekies reassured that progress is on the way. "It has clearly surpassed expectations," he noted regarding the new power unit. "We must recover those tenths. It won’t happen in Miami, but it will happen."

      However, he downplayed the notion that any ADUO allowance would result in an immediate upgrade. "Even though you technically have the right to implement it right after the ruling, are we prepared for that? Probably not," Mekies commented. "Realistically, I don’t expect that you will see it in the early part of the season, at least not from us."