Mercedes boss Toto Wolff had claimed that potential late changes to the 2026 regulations were a “joke” but has since come round and remains open to tweaks ahead of next season
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff claims the Formula 1 grid should be open to changing the regulations regarding power units for 2026 – that is despite previously branding it “a joke”.
An F1 Commission meeting took place last month to discuss the possibility of decreasing the amount of electrical energy output from the power units. Making changes to regulations this late before such a major landscape changes is particularly unusual in the sport.
Four of the five engine manufacturers, which are Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull-Ford Powertrains, Audi and Honda, would have needed to vote in favour of the proposal for the regulations to be changed. A vote was expected to take place, but never materialised.
Before the meeting took place Wolff took aim at the proposal and said: “Reading the agenda of the F1 commission is almost as hilarious as reading some of the comments that I see on Twitter on American politics. I really want to protect ourselves and make no comment, but it’s a joke. A week ago, there was an engine meeting and then things like this end up on the agenda again.”
However the Austrian, who is looking to make Mercedes the force they were when they won seven straight constructors’ title, has changed his stance.
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Wolff has now said: “Obviously, the closer you come to new regulations, the more people act – all of us – in the interest of the team, that’s their duty. Where we’re coming from is we don’t know how it’s going to pan out next year. Are we going to see energy harvesting disasters in Baku or Monza? I don’t know. We hope not.
“What we’ve signalled is that, rather than act now based on assumptions – like we’ve been great at in previous years and then overshot or undershot – you don’t need to throw the hardware away and come up with something new – it’s within the software and bandwidth of what you can do.
“We’ll see the final product next year in testing. As a power unit manufacturer, we want this to be a great show. We want to win, but we are also aware that in the sport there needs to be variability and unpredictability.”
Mercedes are looking to close the gap on McLaren and Red Bull – who have set the pace so far this season. The Silver Arrows have secured several podiums courtesy of George Russell’s performances and also landed a pole position in Miami thanks to Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
Mercedes are thought to be ahead of the pack when it comes to the 2026 changes – which are the biggest set of rule changes in F1 history with almost every technical regulation being changed. The last engine change in 2014 saw Mercedes dominate for years.