F1 power unit dispute: Toto Wolff admits rule change would be 'quite damaging' to Mercedes ahead of new season
Mercedes are at the centre of an engine dispute during F1's two pre-season tests in Bahrain; watch the 3-4pm hour on each day of the first Bahrain test live from Wednesday on Sky Sports F1 before full coverage of the February 18-20 second test
Wednesday 11 February 2026 15:09, UK
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has admitted a change to Formula 1's power unit regulations would be "quite damaging" to his team amid an ongoing dispute.
Over the last month, several discussions have been held between the FIA and F1's five power unit manufacturers -Mercedes, Ferrari, Honda, Audi and Red Bull-Ford - after Mercedes and Red Bull established a potential loophole in the rules.
Red Bull engine chief Ben Hodgkinson, in January, described the saga as "a lot of noise about nothing" and had sided with Mercedes against the other three engine manufacturers.
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However, Aston Martin team principal Adrian Newey told Sky Sports News that "everybody is aligned bar one manufacturer". Newey did not name Mercedes, but the stance Wolff has taken would suggest he was referring to them, with Red Bull now against the Silver Arrows in the rules dispute.
"Sport is full of surprises, so there is never a situation where you can say you're sure about anything," said Wolff on the opening day of the first Bahrain test on Wednesday.
"All along the process, obviously when you design an engine, you're keeping the FIA very close to the decisions you make. That's what we did and we have had all the assurances that what we did was according to the rules.
"It's not even like we're talking about some massive performance game and that's what it was, but I think all of our competitors got a little bit aggrieved and lobbied the FIA for a long time and so far we trust in the governance of the body - that is the power unit advisory committee, and we will see what that gives."
The FIA say they want to keep the dispute out of "the courtroom" as they seek to solve the issue before the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on March 6-8.
Mercedes, who also supply engines to McLaren, Williams and Alpine, are understood to have found a way to have their power unit adhere to the regulations when it is tested stationary, but then reach a higher ratio when it is running but not subject to checks.
Asked what it would mean for Mercedes if the power unit rules changed to stop higher compression ratio limits in all conditions, Wolff said: "You develop an engine over a long time and you have lead times. If you were to be told you can't operate the engine in the way you have developed it, that could be quite damaging for the performance."
Wolff: Engine dispute caused by rivals' fear of embarrassment
Earlier this month, Wolff criticised rivals for pointing the finger at the legality of Mercedes' new engine, telling them to instead "just get your s*** together".
Wolff says FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem backs Mercedes' engine and says the other power unit manufacturers have made the dispute a topic ahead of the new season.
"I think everybody was a little bit too excited about the performance of the Mercedes engine powered teams," he said.
"I think that our colleagues from the other brands have been carried away a little bit, that this could be embarrassing, which I don't think it is at all. But it's OK.
"Let's see how the tests pan out, and then God knows, I don't know what next Black Swan event is going to happen to us."
Williams team principal James Vowles told Sky Sports News that a rule change would "open a can of worms" and that F1 must avoid trying to become a "balance of performance" championship whereby teams are levelled up, leaving little room for rewarding engineering.
Wolff said: "I would say that within the sport, there are individuals which would want it to be a series with a BOP [balance of performance], without calling it a BOP but saying, we actually don't want engineering ingenuity, we'd prefer to have a level playing field, and therefore, we have some rules that are invented on the fly that make things even more complex.
"I think the very essence of Formula 1 is to find performance, to attract the best engineers and the best people, give them freedom to develop regulations, and once it goes for you, and another time it goes against you.
"But I believe that fundamentally, the president of the FIA and Stefano [Domenicali] will look at it in a holistic way, and avoid too much against manufacturing."
Sky Sports F1's Bahrain Testing schedule
Test One: Thursday 12th, Friday 13th February
- 3pm: Final hour of track running Live
- 8pm: Testing Wrap
- 8.30pm: Ted's Testing Notebook
Test Two: Wednesday 18th, Thursday 19th, Friday 20th February
- 6.50am-11.05am: Morning session Live
- 11.55am-4.10pm: Afternoon session Live
- 8pm: Testing Wrap
Watch every race of the 2026 F1 season live on Sky Sports, starting with the Australian Grand Prix from March 6-8. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime
