That's basically correct. I don't think that anybody is cheating, but the rules specify areas associated the engine which can be altered without consulting the authorities and other parts which can be tweaked provided you prove to the FIA that the changes are for reliability reasons or something. As a result, Mercedes and Ferrari have been able to get a fair bit more power from their engines. Renault, however, have nobody to blame but themselves for their engine's poor performance. They should have read the rules much better that tell you can actually make changes and should have read them again more carefully to find the loopholes.


Ayrton Senna: WDC 1988,
1989, 1990, 1991
McLaren: WCC 1974, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998,
1999, 2007McLaren: WDC 1974, 1976, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2008