F1 2026: Toto Wolff reveals FIA president backs Mercedes in engine controversy

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F1 News & Gossip

Toto Wolff reveals FIA president backs Mercedes in engine controversy

The compression ratio saga continues

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Tuesday 3 March 2026 19:53

Mercedes F1 chief Toto Wolff has claimed that he has a very powerful ally amid the team's engine controversy - the FIA president himself.

The off-season has been dominated by chatter regarding Mercedes' engine trick and the geometric compression ratio within their power unit, that measures at the allowed 16:1 when the car is stationary, but then increasing to the previously allowed 18:1 when moving.

The previous FIA regulations could only measure the compression ratio when the car was stationary and at an ambient temperature, allowing Mercedes to get away with the trick and the loophole in the regulations.

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Mercedes were even tipped to gain an advantage of 20-30 brake horsepower, or 0.3 seconds per lap, due to the engine trick, which naturally doesn't bode well for their rivals.

Recently, the outcome of a vote between the five F1 power unit manufacturers saw 4-1 in favour of changing the rules, so the compression ratio can be measured at both ambient and operational temperatures.

This means that from June 1, 2026, the geometric compression ratio can be measured when the engine is at 130 degrees Celsius, with the deadline being brought forward from August 1.

Mercedes will have to ensure that the ratio does not measure above 16:1 when these tests are introduced ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix.

Wolff: 'We've had the support of Ben Sulayem'

Despite the changes coming into play, Wolff was adamant that Mercedes had the support of FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem and F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali.

Wolff told the media during Bahrain testing: "It’s not only the teams. You need the votes from the governing body, and you need the votes from the commercial rights holder. If they decided to share an opinion and an agenda, then you’re screwed."

"All along, we had the support of Mohammed Ben Sulayem. He’s someone, interestingly, that is a lot into his engines and his cars, and that’s why it was, from his perspective, clear what the regulation said and that the regulations were applied in the right way."

When asked if Ben Sulayem could have an influence on solving such matters, Wolff continued: “Well, yeah, of course, he’s the president of the FIA. He has all the powers in his hands to be part of the decision making. At the end of the day, it’s his call.

"When there is a super majority, the four of the engine manufacturers, plus Stefano, plus Mohammed, then you could say, ‘Well, okay, this is not a ganging up anymore against one supplier. Because I believe that Stefano will always look at it from the outside of the teams’, like I said, gamesmanship or manipulation."

F1 Mercedes FIA Toto Wolff 2026 regulations