Much has been said about Mercedes having an advantage heading into the 2026 F1 season. The Silver Arrows have reportedly figured out an engine compression ratio that will conserve battery power and, potentially, make them faster than every other team on the grid.
Mercedes delivered a strong showing at last week's Barcelona Shakedown, lending some weight to those claims. However, as is so often the case when one team gains an advantage, their rivals have been quick to express dissatisfaction and call for a ban.
The FIA could choose to step in when the season begins, which would be disastrous for Mercedes as any sweeping changes made this deep into development—and a new set of regulations—would put them on the back foot for the remainder of the year's races.
The engine has been deemed legal (for now), and Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff has today hit back at the teams that want to stop the Brackley-based group in its tracks.
"I just don’t understand why some teams concentrate more on the others – and keep arguing a case that is very clear and transparent," Wolff said today. "Communication with the FIA was very positive all along. It’s not only on compression ratio, but on other things too."
"And specifically in that area, it’s very clear what the regulation say. It’s very clear what the standard procedures are on any motors, or even outside of F1," he continued. "So just get your sh*t together. They are just doing secret meetings and sending secret letters and keep trying to invent ways of testing that just don’t exist."
"I can just say at least from us here we are trying to minimise distractions. Minimising distractions is looking more at us than everybody else, when it’s pretty clear what the regulations say – and also pretty clear what the FIA has said to us," Wolff concluded.
Red Bull is believed to be hot on Mercedes' heels when it comes to developing this technology, and the FIA is expected to meet with the teams in the coming weeks to try and settle the matter. That would avoid the risk of protests being lodged at the Australian Grand Prix in March.
In the 2026 season, George Russell and Kimi Antonelli will race for Mercedes. It's no secret that Wolff wants Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen after missing out on signing the Dutchman when he was a teenager, so if he's produced a Championship-worthy car, big changes may be heading our way next year.