Laurent Mekies has backed the principle behind Formula 1’s ADUO engine rules - while making clear Red Bull still expects to benefit from them.
Responding to the ongoing debate about how far the system should go, amid Toto Wolff’s concerns that Honda should be the only real beneficiary, the Red Bull boss struck a measured tone.
"I think Toto is right. The ADUO is there to recover, not to overtake everyone. In that sense, I completely agree with him," Mekies said.
Referring to Red Bull’s new Ford-backed power unit, the Frenchman added: "Everyone has made an extraordinary effort to bring the engine to its current level. But is it at the level of the very best? Definitely not."
"Do we expect to be among those who manage to close the gap? Yes, we certainly hope to be in that category. But should that allow us to overtake the others in one fell swoop? No, not at all."
Behind the scenes, the FIA is still finalising how the system will be applied - and when.
FIA technical chief Nikolas Tombazis explained how performance gaps will be calculated.
"Power is calculated on a lap-weighted basis - where power is most important, typically at the start of a straight, it weighs more than where it’s less important," he said.
"For each race, we take the best car from each engine manufacturer, collect data over many laps, and calculate the average."
On timing, Tombazis indicated ADUO will not come into force immediately.
"We’re still evaluating. We have at least a month until the first tranche of ADUO results, so first we’ll definitely have Miami and also Canada."
That points to a likely introduction no earlier than Monaco in June.