2026 Drama: Alleged engine loophole

[ScottB]

I'd say the FIA should just stick to their guns, it seems similar to the flexi wings that all the teams have played with; can you pass the test as written, if you can, it's legal. They could all pass the flexi wing test with wings that weren't meant to flex, but patently did. Now we have an engine compression test that is to happen when the engine is at ambient temperature.

I'm surprised they didn't all immediately jump on that! Now they're upset 1, maybe 2 of them did. Fine, change the test for some point in the future and move on.

[Emag]

But even if Mercedes somehow gets away with this, they still poured enormous engineering resources into a trick that’s worth maybe ~10-15 hp and marginally better fuel efficiency at best. It’s an extremely intricate solution, which certainly required a significant resources and investment for R&D under the strict engine budget cap. Other teams simply used those resources in other areas. If they Mercedes doesn't get away with this, which seems more likely now, they simply wasted those resources. It's a huge gamble for them.

Is this you?

It's clever engineering, not cheating. I'm just glad that Red Bull Ford Powertrains found this loophole. It shows they have same pretty smart people there, not to be underestimated for 2026.

[SB15]

I'm trying to understand here: I know 15+ HP difference is a lot for these engines but that's only half of the story. The battery and fuel management aspect for these particular engines are really the most important. So, I'm struggling to understand would it even matter if Mercedes did run 16:1, would there still be quite an advantage if they had harmony with the fuel and battery also? I don't know.

But it looks like the previous Mercedes engineer who brought up the 16:1 trick to Redbull, recent reports are stating since they couldn't replicate it, they spread the rumor about it.

[gearboxtrouble]

I very much doubt Mercedes has anywhere near a 15 hp advantage. That's just lazy back of the envelope math that assumes everything else is identical and that all the other engines are stuck at 16:1 even at operating temperatures which we know is not the case. It's going to be something like the best of the rest being within a single digit hp difference at worst and thats in line with the alleged advantage Ferrari had in recent years. It didn't help Ferrari dominate the last ruleset and we're not looking at a 2014 style advantage here. People need to relax - this is just F1 politics making a mountain out of a molehill for any sort of advantage.

[peewon]

It's 4 teams vs one. The pressure is huge on the FIA.

The regulations state that the compression ratio cannot exceed 16.0

2. The measuring process to determine said compression was only carried out at room temperatures - leaving a grey area to increase this ratio at higher temperatures.

3. However - and this is key - the regulation outlining the compression ratio and the regulation outlining how it is measured are independent from each other.
There is also a global written regulation stating that all articles must be obeyed “at all times”.
That means, the compression ratio must be 16 at all times regardless of whether it is measured or not.

I think it should be noted here that the phrase "at ambient temperature" was added at the very last iteration of the regulations and was not present for the vast majority of the development time for these PUs. The addition of this phrase actually solidifies the loophole in favor of Mercedes but the fact that it was done so late is extremely suspicious IMO and not a good look.

I was always viewed it with a bit of suspicion that every Mercedes exploit is pre-cleared by the FIA whereas other teams like Aston Martin (armchair rear wing), Red Bull (flexi wings), Ferrari (fuel flow rate bypass) all got pegged back within a few races.

Other incidents like FIA not doing anything about Flexi wings (used by Mercedes and close Merc ally McLaren) for almost a full season last year despite acting extremely quickly against RB for the same thing in the past, Toto Wolff accidently revealing he had pre knowledge about which teams had breached cost cap when former Mercedes lawyer Shaila Ann Rao was part of the investigating team, are all extremely damning in my eyes.

However, Mercedes is the biggest auto brand carrying the legitimacy of F1 as the premier racing series similar to Ferrari in the past so they will definitely have more sway and negotiating power but last minute changes to regulations in such a specific way are extremely incriminating in my opinion. Many will disagree.

[morefirejules08]

It's 4 teams vs one. The pressure is huge on the FIA.

The regulations state that the compression ratio cannot exceed 16.0

2. The measuring process to determine said compression was only carried out at room temperatures - leaving a grey area to increase this ratio at higher temperatures.

3. However - and this is key - the regulation outlining the compression ratio and the regulation outlining how it is measured are independent from each other.
There is also a global written regulation stating that all articles must be obeyed “at all times”.
That means, the compression ratio must be 16 at all times regardless of whether it is measured or not.

I think it should be noted here that the phrase "at ambient temperature" was added at the very last iteration of the regulations and was not present for the vast majority of the development time for these PUs. The addition of this phrase actually solidifies the loophole in favor of Mercedes but the fact that it was done so late is extremely suspicious IMO and not a good look.

I was always viewed it with a bit of suspicion that every Mercedes exploit is pre-cleared by the FIA whereas other teams like Aston Martin (armchair rear wing), Red Bull (flexi wings), Ferrari (fuel flow rate bypass) all got pegged back within a few races.

Other incidents like FIA not doing anything about Flexi wings (used by Mercedes and close Merc ally McLaren) for almost a full season last year despite acting extremely quickly against RB for the same thing in the past, Toto Wolff accidently revealing he had pre knowledge about which teams had breached cost cap when former Mercedes lawyer Shaila Ann Rao was part of the investigating team, are all extremely damning in my eyes.

However, Mercedes is the biggest auto brand carrying the legitimacy of F1 as the premier racing series similar to Ferrari in the past so they will definitely have more sway and negotiating power but last minute changes to regulations in such a specific way are extremely incriminating in my opinion. Many will disagree.

Redbulls flexi wing was first highlighted in 2020 and only acted on by the FIA in 21 and then they were given nearly 1/2 a season to fully comply

[Badger]

It's 4 teams vs one. The pressure is huge on the FIA.

The regulations state that the compression ratio cannot exceed 16.0

2. The measuring process to determine said compression was only carried out at room temperatures - leaving a grey area to increase this ratio at higher temperatures.

3. However - and this is key - the regulation outlining the compression ratio and the regulation outlining how it is measured are independent from each other.
There is also a global written regulation stating that all articles must be obeyed “at all times”.
That means, the compression ratio must be 16 at all times regardless of whether it is measured or not.

I think it should be noted here that the phrase "at ambient temperature" was added at the very last iteration of the regulations and was not present for the vast majority of the development time for these PUs. The addition of this phrase actually solidifies the loophole in favor of Mercedes but the fact that it was done so late is extremely suspicious IMO and not a good look.

I was always viewed it with a bit of suspicion that every Mercedes exploit is pre-cleared by the FIA whereas other teams like Aston Martin (armchair rear wing), Red Bull (flexi wings), Ferrari (fuel flow rate bypass) all got pegged back within a few races.

Other incidents like FIA not doing anything about Flexi wings (used by Mercedes and close Merc ally McLaren) for almost a full season last year despite acting extremely quickly against RB for the same thing in the past, Toto Wolff accidently revealing he had pre knowledge about which teams had breached cost cap when former Mercedes lawyer Shaila Ann Rao was part of the investigating team, are all extremely damning in my eyes.

However, Mercedes is the biggest auto brand carrying the legitimacy of F1 as the premier racing series similar to Ferrari in the past so they will definitely have more sway and negotiating power but last minute changes to regulations in such a specific way are extremely incriminating in my opinion. Many will disagree.

Redbulls flexi wing was first highlighted in 2020 and only acted on by the FIA in 21 and then they were given nearly 1/2 a season to fully comply

Not exactly. Mercedes started complaining about it early in 2021 and the FIA caved almost immediately by introducing stricter tests. Wolff deployed Hamilton in Barcelona where he somehow spotted the “bendy wing” from 100 meters back in the race and started reporting it on the radio for the world to hear, clearly choreographed. A few races later in France the new tests were implemented.

[Seanspeed]

Redbulls flexi wing was first highlighted in 2020 and only acted on by the FIA in 21 and then they were given nearly 1/2 a season to fully comply

Back in the early 2010's, there was also a lot of scrutiny of Red Bull's very clearly flexing wings and the FIA implemented several load testing changes on very short notice.

[Peter Ian Staker]

But even if Mercedes somehow gets away with this, they still poured enormous engineering resources into a trick that’s worth maybe ~10-15 hp and marginally better fuel efficiency at best. It’s an extremely intricate solution, which certainly required a significant resources and investment for R&D under the strict engine budget cap. Other teams simply used those resources in other areas. If they Mercedes doesn't get away with this, which seems more likely now, they simply wasted those resources. It's a huge gamble for them.

We’ve heard rumors that the trick may be worth a lot more than 15 hp, likely double that.

[RonMexico]

I think it should be noted here that the phrase "at ambient temperature" was added at the very last iteration of the regulations and was not present for the vast majority of the development time for these PUs. The addition of this phrase actually solidifies the loophole in favor of Mercedes but the fact that it was done so late is extremely suspicious IMO and not a good look.

I was always viewed it with a bit of suspicion that every Mercedes exploit is pre-cleared by the FIA whereas other teams like Aston Martin (armchair rear wing), Red Bull (flexi wings), Ferrari (fuel flow rate bypass) all got pegged back within a few races.

Other incidents like FIA not doing anything about Flexi wings (used by Mercedes and close Merc ally McLaren) for almost a full season last year despite acting extremely quickly against RB for the same thing in the past, Toto Wolff accidently revealing he had pre knowledge about which teams had breached cost cap when former Mercedes lawyer Shaila Ann Rao was part of the investigating team, are all extremely damning in my eyes.

However, Mercedes is the biggest auto brand carrying the legitimacy of F1 as the premier racing series similar to Ferrari in the past so they will definitely have more sway and negotiating power but last minute changes to regulations in such a specific way are extremely incriminating in my opinion. Many will disagree.

Redbulls flexi wing was first highlighted in 2020 and only acted on by the FIA in 21 and then they were given nearly 1/2 a season to fully comply

Not exactly. Mercedes started complaining about it early in 2021 and the FIA caved almost immediately by introducing stricter tests. Wolff deployed Hamilton in Barcelona where he somehow spotted the “bendy wing” from 100 meters back in the race and started reporting it on the radio for the world to hear, clearly choreographed. A few races later in France the new tests were implemented.

And of course the pitstop equipment changes to hamstring a clear Red Bull strength. That one was laughable.

[bluechris]

Redbulls flexi wing was first highlighted in 2020 and only acted on by the FIA in 21 and then they were given nearly 1/2 a season to fully comply

Not exactly. Mercedes started complaining about it early in 2021 and the FIA caved almost immediately by introducing stricter tests. Wolff deployed Hamilton in Barcelona where he somehow spotted the “bendy wing” from 100 meters back in the race and started reporting it on the radio for the world to hear, clearly choreographed. A few races later in France the new tests were implemented.

And of course the pitstop equipment changes to hamstring a clear Red Bull strength. That one was laughable.

Let's not forget the MB moaning for the porpoising that gave the TD39 that crippled Ferrari. Offcourse the porpoising almost didn't changed.

Toto is the king on this things, its just once it's his time where an "innovation" is not innovation.
Anyway, let's wait a bit, im not really sure that this is the last word from MB on this.

[AR3-GP]

Don't believe everything you read on the internet.

[f1isgood]

I feel like the compression ratio is smoke. I think the real matter is somewhere else.

[brakeboosted]

I feel like the compression ratio is smoke. I think the real matter is somewhere else.

Well of course it isn't just smoke if they are scheduling meetings over it. It's real. To what extent no one knows.I agree its perhaps not the only area of interest. You don't change the engine chassis aero regs all at once and cover every loophole possible. I'm sure after Melbourne we'll here about at least 5 different loopholes being exploited.

[SB15]

This is incredible, for some reason it's like Redbull are the ones who's causing such chaos.

It was 2019 when Max discovered that Ferrari was using some type of "trick" for the engine, Max first noticed which later the whole team wanted the FIA to investigate Ferrari and later the other teams followed in 2020.

Now, Redbull were the ones who initiated the rumor because they couldn't replicate the supposed "trick" that Mercedes were doing. Which in made a lot of teams to be against Mercedes even though Mercedes were working along side the FIA.

I gotta respect the dedication this team does to make sure they're competitive at any means necessary.