Sebastian Vettel has warned those expecting Red Bull’s dominance to be seriously dented by the blown exhaust ban to instead expect a "surprise".
At Valencia this weekend, teams will no longer be able to run different off-throttle engine maps in qualifying, and two weeks later at Silverstone the practice of ’hot blowing’ will be effectively banned altogether.
"I am very interested to see how the situation will evolve with the redefined regulations," Renault driver Nick Heidfeld told Luxembourg newspaper Tageblatt.
"It’s though at the moment that Red Bull is getting the most from their system," he added. "We will have to see whether after the regulations change that is still the case."
German reigning world champion Vettel, 23, is apparently running away with this year’s title but in the pages of Sport Bild he sounded cool as the FIA moves to break down his advantage.
"It doesn’t particularly worry me," he said on Wednesday. "I think our car is the best of all in its overall concept and is therefore not dependant on just one component."
Vettel adds: "Anyone who believes Red Bull will be the most disadvantaged I think will be surprised."