Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner said that F1 "cannot afford to remain with fully frozen engines if the sport is going to be more exciting in the future," according to Jonathan Noble of AUTOSPORT. As pressure mounts on Mercedes to end its opposition to an easing of F1's engine freeze rules, Horner reckons that "changing the regulations is vital for the health of grand prix racing." Horner: "For F1 it is important. We saw Nico Rosberg's performance [in Russia] -- the true performance is they can drive through the field. It is too out of kilter. There were five Mercedes-powered cars in the top five, and the immaturity of this technology is still quite raw. ... But it is healthy for F1 that Ferrari, Honda and Renault should have that ability to close that gap otherwise we are going to end up in a very stagnant position." Mercedes "made it clear that it will not approve the changes to the rules for 2015." When asked what could be done to persuade Mercedes, Horner said, "I think it is a bigger issue than just about the teams. It is about what is right for the sport, what is right for the fans" (AUTOSPORT, 10/13).
