F1 2026: FIA boss issues 'courtroom' plea over engine controversy

FIA

FIA boss issues 'courtroom' plea over 2026 engine controversy

The season's first controversy has arrived early

Chris Deeley

Wednesday 11 February 2026 09:45

FIA single seater director Nikolas Tombazis has revealed that the governing body are hoping to resolve a controversial F1 issue before the season begins next month.

New regulations always bring new attempts to push them to the limits, and Mercedes and Red Bull appear to have found a way to unlock a little extra performance from their new engines.

The teams have found a loophole in the rules surrounding compression ratio limits, which have been lowered from 18:0 to 16:0, with the teams taking advantage of the fact that measurements will only be taken when the engine is below full temperature.

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Other teams have been up in arms over what they see as a deliberate circumvention of the rules, and Tombazis has now admitted that officials are spending 'a lot of time' on the issue.

FIA chief: We don't want controversies

The move to get the issue sorted before the first race of the year in Melbourne is due, he said, to a desire to have the season decided on the racetrack rather than in the courtroom.

"As these engineers are very clever and always pushing for an advantage," he said, "some have found ways to potentially increase it [the compression ratio] when the engine is running hot, and that is the discussion we're having now.

"We've spent a lot of time discussing how we solve those issues, and our intention is of course to solve them for the start of the season.

"We don't want to have controversies. We want people to be competing on the track, not in the courtroom or in the stewards' room, and that's what we try to do."

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F1 Red Bull Mercedes FIA Nikolas Tombazis