Williams denies questioning Mercedes F1 engine parity

Williams has issued a statement denying it questioned the parity of Mercedes' customer Formula 1 engines following the FIA's decision to issue a technical directive last month regarding the matter.

The FIA sent a memo to all F1 teams stressing that there must be total parity between the engines used by manufacturers and those it supplies to customer operations, with Mercedes supplying Williams and Force India.

Red Bull F1 chief Christian Horner said the team had never questioned the parity of the engines it used, as supplied by Renault, but told journalists to "go and speak to Claire Williams" about the ruling.

In a statement issued by Williams on Monday ahead of the second pre-season F1 test in Barcelona, deputy team boss Claire Williams sought to clear up the matter by stressing the team had never questioned its engine supply from Mercedes.

"Contrary to comments made recently in the press, we refute any suggestion that we have questioned the parity of the power units provided by Mercedes-AMG HPP," the statement from Williams reads.

"We are absolutely confident that the power units used by Mercedes, Force India and ourselves are identical in terms of both hardware and software.

“We have an excellent professional and personal relationship with Mercedes, and our focus is firmly on continuing the good work that we have started, as we prepare for the final test in Barcelona this week ahead of the new season."