The 2026 Mercedes F1 car is legit as new evidence nixes engine allegations

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

Australian Grand Prix

The 2026 Mercedes F1 car is legit as new evidence nixes engine allegations

The team dominated in Melbourne on Sunday

By Kerry Violet.

Sunday 8 March 2026 23:59

Mercedes jumped at the chance to prove they are in fact the ones to watch as F1 entered a controversial new regulations era at the 2026 season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

During pre-season testing, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff pointed the finger at Red Bull, calling them 'the benchmark'.

But after four-time champion Max Verstappen crashed out of Q1 on Saturday at Albert Park Circuit, he was forced to start all the way back in P20, as Mercedes locked out the front row with George Russell in pole position and his team-mate Kimi Antonelli alongside him in P2 ahead of lights out.

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The Silver Arrows driver duo managed to cross the line in the same order, picking up a double podium in Melbourne and cementing Mercedes as the early frontrunners, but there is every chance that Russell and Antonelli could lose this advantage in just seven rounds time.

There was plenty of drama away from the track before the 2026 campaign had even begun after Mercedes' rivals complained to the FIA over a clever compression ratio trick.

Verstappen even claimed that this loophole had handed his rivals between an extra 20-30 brake horsepower and an advantage of 0.3 seconds per lap.

But after a vote amongst the power unit providers, a decision has now been reached that means Mercedes will not be able to use this trick from the 2026 Monaco GP onwards, meaning they will be looking to pick up as many points as possible before the race in the principality just in case it reduces their competitive lead.

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Why Mercedes rivals are so wrong

Despite their rivals, including Lewis Hamilton, implying that Mercedes' compression ratio advantage is illegal, the Sky Sports F1 pundits feel the compression situation does not explain away the squad's early-season advantage.

Speaking to media on Saturday, Hamilton demanded answers from F1's governing body over the issue, saying: "I want to understand why it's two tenths or more just through power, per sector.

"If it is a compression thing, I want to understand why the FIA haven't done anything and what's been done to rectify it. If it's not, and it's just pure power, we have to do a better job."

Though Hamilton did acknowledge that Mercedes may just be ahead of the Scuderia on all fronts, Sky Sports F1 analyst Bernie Collins was quick to shut down the seven-time champion's allegation that their compression ratio trick is the only reason Mercedes are fast.

The former F1 strategist hinted that there’s clearly more going on with Toto Wolff's squad, offering up evidence to disprove Hamilton's suggestion.

Collins responded to Hamilton's Saturday comments, saying: "Four teams are running this [Mercedes] engine so if it was just down to compression ratio we'd have those four teams at the top of the timesheet and that's not how it stands at the minute."

Martin Brundle then chimed in to quip: "I think the whole thing's a storm in a cylinder."

F1 Mercedes FIA 2026 regulations Bernie Collins