F1 2026: FIA 'will ban' Mercedes engine trick following rivals uproar

FIA decides penalty for Mercedes in Las Vegas — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

FIA 'will ban' Mercedes engine trick following rivals uproar

Mercedes' engines have been a hot topic

Chris Deeley Editor

Experienced sports writer covering F1 and other motorsports since 2023

Monday 16 February 2026 09:43 Updated: 09:59

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The FIA have insisted that they want to get as many decisions about the 2026 season's contentious rules issues out the way as possible before the lights go out in Melbourne next month.

A new report in Swiss newspaper Blick, from long-time F1 insider Roger Benoit, claims that a number of teams are confident in getting at least one win from the FIA when it comes to those rules.

The big story of any offseason regulation change comes from teams 'rules lawyering' their way into and out of technicalities, while the other teams gnash their teeth and try to get those technicalities written out of the rulebook.

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This year, it's all about engine compression. Mercedes and Red Bull appear 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.

F1 turning point coming

In his latest column, Benoit writes of the engine issue: "The competition from Ferrari, Honda, and Audi is furious. They claim the FIA will ban the increased compression ratio in the cylinder (from 16:1 to 18:1) for the eight Mercedes cars, despite their homologation, even before the Australian Grand Prix!"

The FIA told GPFans: "This is an ongoing discussion between the FIA and the F1 teams and nothing has been confirmed."

That would be a massive blow for Mercedes and the three other teams they supply with engines (McLaren, Alpine and Williams), who insist that their system is entirely legal.

After all, it passes the tests laid down in the rules, and that's what counts – and the FIA, for their part, previously confirmed that the letter of the law is being obeyed.

There was one important phrase in the statement they released confirming that Mercedes' engine is legal though, and it reads: “If necessary, adjustments to the regulations or measurement procedures can be considered in the future.”

FIA single seaters director Nikolas Tombazis said this month: "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."

GPFans has contacted the FIA for comment.

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