The FIA say they want to keep a dispute between Formula 1 teams over the sport’s new 2026 power units out of “the courtroom” as they seek to solve the issue before the start of the new season.
Ahead of the new campaign, which begins with the Australian Grand Prix on March 8, it is understood that Ferrari, Honda and Audi fear that Mercedes, the pre-season title favourites, and Red Bull, who have produced their own power unit for the first time, may have established a performance advantage through a so-called ‘loophole’ in the regulations.
The row centres on compression ratio limits amid suggestions from rivals that the two manufacturers may have found a way to deliver a higher limit than what was theoretically imposed by the brand new regulations for 2026.
The compression ratio limit has been lowered from 18.0 under the previous ruleset to 16.0, but measurements are only taken when the engine is not running at full temperature.
In a video interview released by the sport’s governing body on Monday, FIA single seater director Nikolas Tombazis explained how they are approaching the issue.
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“As these engineers are very clever and always pushing for an advantage, some have found ways to potentially increase it (the compression ratio) when the engine is running hot, and that is the discussion we’re having now,” Tombazis said
“We’ve spent a lot of time discussing how we solve those issues, and our intention is of course to solve them for the start of the season.
“We don’t want to have controversies. We want people to be competing on the track, not in the courtroom or in the stewards’ room, and that’s what we try to do.”
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There has already been fighting talk from both sides of the debate, with Mercedes chief Toto Wolff telling those complaining about his team’s engine to “get your s*** together” and accusing them of making “excuses before you even started.”
From the other side, team principals being supplied with power units that aren’t taking advantage of the loophole have pointedly been insisting that they are confident their engines are legal and comply with the rules.
The controversy comes amid what is widely considered to be the biggest regulation change in F1 history, with both new chassis and power unit regulations being implemented.
Tombazis added: “It’s impossible when we have new rules not to have such areas of discussion, that’s always been the case.
“I think what has changed is that we are determined to make this a championship of competition between the best drivers, the best engineers, the teams, but not a championship of rule interpretation.
“We want it to be a championship of engineering prowess as well as driving prowess, but not of actually just a smarter rules interpreter.”
‘F1 teams not close to voting territory yet’
Sky Sports News reporter Craig Slater said earlier on Monday that there remains hope a resolution can be found with the situation becoming overly messy.
Slater said: “People may have been reading that Honda, Ferrari and Audi, and maybe Red Bull as well, are going to club together to force a change in the regulations via something called a ‘super majority’.
“I’ve been advised that we’re still a very long way away from that.
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“That would require six parties out of the seven that make decisions on the engines – that’s the five engine manufacturers plus the FIA, the governing body, and Formula 1’s commercial rights holders – to rubber stamp something.
“I don’t even think we’re close to voting territory yet. There are other solutions that can be found and there are still discussions to be had.
“Senior figures from within the sport have advised me that, even if some teams are getting a bit het up about it at the moment, maybe other issues will begin to supplant that once the season gets under way.”
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