Mercedes ADMIT they have best F1 engine despite FIA decision and risk Red Bull uproar

Mekies, Wolff, FIA, socials — Photo: © IMAGO

Mercedes

Mercedes ADMIT they have best F1 engine despite FIA decision and risk Red Bull uproar

Wolff gave a verdict about his F1 PU that might have been too honest for his own good

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Sunday 19 July 2026 20:56

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F1 team principal Toto Wolff slipped up at the Belgian Grand Prix by revealing he views the Mercedes 2026 engine as the most powerful power unit on the grid.

Sadly for George Russell, an opening lap incident with Lewis Hamilton left him unable to continue the race at Spa-Francorchamps on Sunday, meaning he came away from the weekend with zero points.

But for his team-mate and drivers' title leader Kimi Antonelli, the Belgian GP provided a chance to get another 25 championship points under his belt, powered to victory by the Mercedes PU.

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It was clear from the start of the 2026 campaign that the Silver Arrows had come closest to mastering the new chassis and power unit regulations, but as the season has progressed, the Mercedes PU has also proved to not be the most reliable.

When assessed along with the other F1 power unit providers Ferrari, Red Bull Powertrains, Audi and Honda, the FIA's ADUO (additional development upgrade opportunities) process ranked Mercedes as having only the second best engine.

Despite a Red Bull driver not winning a single grand prix so far under the new regulations, the new Red Bull Powertrains Ford project was ranked top of the order, meaning the energy drink giants do not get the opportunity to bring any upgrades to their PU this season.

Mercedes on the other hand, do.

Wolff disagrees with FIA power unit order

Speaking to Sky Sports after Sunday's Belgian GP, Wolff revealed that Mercedes and their customer teams McLaren, Williams and Alpine were dealing with an issue in Spa.

"We had an issue on all Mercedes engines that we lacked the power out on the straights. That hit him [Russell] badly and it 100 per cent goes on us," said Wolff before adding: "We are trying our best as a team."

The Austrian team principal then let it slip that he disagrees with the FIA's ADUO ranking that set Red Bull's F1 2026 engine as the benchmark, admitting: "We have the most powerful power unit, a strong car that is capable of winning. Everyone is giving their maximum to minimise the mistakes and still it happens because we are humans at work.

"We let Kimi down at Silverstone where George got a podium, which is maybe better than the result should have been.

"Then one DNF for Montreal, the other in Barcelona. That's a little bit of the story of our season. It's a technical sport, a mechanical sport."

FIA 2026 ADUO Rankings

FIA ADUO Analysis
Engine	Teams	Upgrades
Red Bull Powertrains	Red Bull, Racing Bulls	Benchmark
Mercedes	McLaren, Williams, Mercedes, Alpine	One Upgrade
Ferrari	Haas, Cadillac, Ferrari	Two Upgrades
Audi	Audi	Two Upgrades
Honda	Aston Martin	Two Upgrades

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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F1 Red Bull Mercedes FIA Toto Wolff