FIA moves to shut down F1 2026 engine ‘loophole’ fears ahead of Australian GP

Amidst reports two engine manufacturers, said to be Mercedes and Red Bull-Ford, have found a grey area in the wording of the F1 2026 engine regulations, the FIA is intent on ensuring the new season does not begin next month in Australia under a cloud of controversy.

According to the FIA’s single-seater technical director Nikolas Tombazis, the matter will be “put to bed” before then although discussions are still ongoing.

‘I don’t think there is any discussion of people specifically breaching’

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This year, Formula 1 has introduced a new engine formula with the sport doing away with the MGU-H, adopting an almost 50-50 split between electrical and combustion power, and switching to fully sustainable fuel.

It’s the biggest change since 2014 when Mercedes got a march on its rivals in the turbocharged V6 era and romped to seven successive championship doubles, before an eighth Constructors’ title in 2021.

There are concerns the Brackley squad could do it again, amid reports Mercedes and Red Bull-Ford have found a loophole in the wording of the regulation relating to the engine’s compression ratio.

Set at 16:1 when measured in “ambient” conditions, the two have allegedly designed their engines such that, when at normal operating temperature, that ratio increases. Reports suggest it gives them as much as 15bhp extra, which equates to four-tenths per lap.

More on F1’s compression ratio controversy

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Formula 1’s technical minds met earlier this month to discuss that situation, but that meeting went by without any verdict. After all, the powers-that-be are still trying to decide what classifies as a “loophole”.

“What exactly a loophole is, is a bit of a discussion,” Tombazis told Racingnews365.

“I don’t think there is any discussion of people specifically breaching, as such. Indeed, we don’t even know what people’s solutions are, so I think there is a bit of some people jumping the gun and making noise.

“I would say the word loophole has quite a few meanings, and I think it is fair to say that there are areas in which the rules are not clear to everybody.

“The number one objective is to make sure this gets completely put to bed in a totally absolute black and white way before the first race, so we don’t have any further discussions.”

The new season begins in Melbourne on March 6 with the opening practice session at the Australian Grand Prix.

Tombazis said the FIA is determined to avoid a situation where a team could protest the result of the Australian race.

“When the regulations are new, inevitably, there are different views about certain parts, and compared to past lives, where, let’s say, things would end up in a protest and an international court of appeal or something like that,” he added.

“We aim to provide clarity before, following all of the governance processes there are, but we clearly never have any control over anybody on whether they want to protest or not, but we hope to be able to provide enough clarity so that hopefully, it is not a necessary step.

“But of course, whether a team decides to do that, that is their business; we are still working on what the solution will be.”

Should any power unit manufacturer face major performance or reliability deficits to rivals, however, a new system of Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO) could be utilised as an opportunity to close the gap.

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