Mercedes F1 team secure 'Machiavellian victory' with FIA ruling

Mercedes

Mercedes secure 'Machiavellian victory' with FIA ruling

Kimi Antonelli and George Russell look set to be able to resume their championship battle unaffected by the other teams

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Monday 29 June 2026 19:45

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A recent FIA ruling in favour of Mercedes has been dubbed as something of a cunning plan from the Silver Arrows by Italian media.

George Russell's Mercedes team returned to form at the Austrian Grand Prix, with Brit Russell taking the race victory and his team-mate Kimi Antonelli finishing third.

It's the first time that both Mercedes drivers have been on the grand prix podium since the Chinese GP in March, a run that had led Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton to sneak into the fight for the drivers' championship.

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But Ferrari were no match for Mercedes' pace in Austria, and the only threat to a Mercedes clean sweep of the weekend was Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

The reliability issues that have plagued Mercedes' power units in the last few weekends were not present either, and one Italian publication has revealed that this is down to an FIA ruling, something that they have described as a 'Machiavellian victory' for Mercedes.

F1 RESULTS: Austrian Grand Prix final classification with all penalties applied

Mercedes handed power unit reprieve

Mercedes have been allowed to bring an upgrade to their power unit, after it was ruled that they were behind the best-performing power unit in 2026, despite the fact that they have won seven of the eight grands prix so far.

That's because of the FIA's additional development and upgrade opportunities scheme (ADUO) which was brought in to try and help struggling power unit manufacturers.

Mercedes were deemed to be between two and four per cent behind Red Bull-Ford, who are said to have the fastest power unit despite the fact they are sat in fourth in the constructors' championship.

This has led to some controversy, and an FIA admission that they will review the way in which the data was captured from the opening six races, but it has helped Mercedes as they try to improve their power unit.

And Gazzetta have issued a scathing assessment of this decision.

The above publication said: "It's no coincidence that Mercedes has taken all the pole positions this year and won seven of the eight GPs contested so far.

"Toto Wolff's only concern is the numerous failures of their power units. But having obtained the FIA's development license (a Machiavellian victory) could also help fix reliability."

F1 Mercedes FIA George Russell