Sources claim Mercedes 2015 engine to gain second a lap

[John S]

Even Honda must up their game says BBC's Andrew Benson.

WOW and double WOW - a second a lap on top of their runaway performance this year - no wonder they don't want to relax the engine rules. 

Insiders say the new Honda engine is already close to producing a similar level of performance to the Mercedes turbo hybrid V6 which has dominated Formula 1 this season.

But the Japanese company may need to find considerably more performance ahead of the new season if it is to be competitive, as Mercedes are said to have made significant steps forward with their power unit for 2015.

Even under rules restricting development, sources say Mercedes have improved their engine enough to translate into a performance gain of about a second a lap for next season.

Chief F1 writer Andrew Benson, BBC Sport, 14th Nov.