Hamilton positive qualifying engine mode ban won't allow teams to catch Mercedes

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton is positive the move to ban qualifying engine 'party modes' will not be enough to allow the teams to catch the team in qualifying.

It was revealed prior to the upcoming Spanish Grand Prix that the FIA had informed teams from the Belgian Grand Prix later in the month, the same engine modes must be used in both qualifying and the race.

Speaking at the press conference in Barcelona on Thursday, Hamilton insisted the decision to outlaw the qualifying modes will not affect the team's performance.

"No. And just going back to the fact that at the end of the day, the guys on our team have done such a great job with the engine," Hamilton said.

"It's obviously to slow us down but I don't think it's going to get the result that they want, so that's totally fine if they do."

"It's not a surprise to us, they're always trying to slow us down. But it doesn't really change a huge amount for us so it's not a problem."

Change could lead to loss of overtakes - Bottas

Speaking also on the decision, teammate Valtteri Bottas echoed Hamiton'ss belief that it will not affect the team but was concerned that it could affect the number of overtakes during a race.

"It's impossible to know with other engine manufacturers how much they can actually gain when they do it all-out in qualifying and if we're gaining more or not," Bottas explained.

"We are not panicking about it, if that regulation comes it's the same for everyone.

"But when I heard about the possibility for the first time, actually this morning, the first thing [that] came to my mind [is the effect it will have in races. Because every team obviously has different modes in terms of how much they want to risk in terms of wearing the engine and sometimes when they can [change the performance mode].

"[It's] also the same for us, we can save the engine if we have margin, and also in terms of strategic things in the race, for drivers many times we are using different modes whether we are defending, attacking.

"So from my side it feels like if it could be the same engine mode for everyone all through the race, I think there could be less overtaking because everyone is just running the same modes instead of playing with them and trying to maximise every situation with sometimes using more power, sometimes less.

"But in the end, it would be fewer things for us to do while driving. Obviously it's not up to us but we'll take it if it comes."