FIA CONFIRMS MAJOR LOOPHOLE IN NEW 2026 FORMULA 1 POWER UNITS
Nikolas Tombazis confirms an F1 engine loophole as Mercedes exploits compression ratios, leaving Ferrari and Audi fuming for 2026.
FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis just confirmed what the paddock’s been buzzing about: at least one Formula 1 team has pulled off a power unit trick that’s already causing a storm before the new season even starts.
The switch to new power units hasn’t just shaken up the tech; it’s brought new names onto the grid. Renault’s out, but now we’ve got Audi finally joining, Honda back in the mix, and Red Bull Powertrains up and running. And with Cadillac backed by General Motors joining soon, the lineup looks fresher than it has in years.
A big reason for all this change? The rulebook now splits power 50-50 between combustion and electric energy, steering F1 in a new direction. But here’s the thing: Mercedes spotted a loophole and ran with it.
It all comes down to the compression ratio inside the engine. The FIA checks it at ambient temperatures and expects a ratio of 16:1, but Mercedes figured out how to bump it up to 18:1 when the engine heats up at race pace. That little trick gives them more efficiency on track.
Naturally, their rivals aren’t happy. Ferrari, Audi, Honda—they’re all fuming. The FIA’s now scrambling to sort things out before the Australian Grand Prix. No one wants this to end up in court.
Tombazis explained why the rules were written this way in the first place. “There are all these pistons moving, turning the crankshaft, pulling air and fuel in. Designing engines to hit high compression ratios isn’t easy.
“When we set these regulations, we wanted to bring in new manufacturers. It worked—now we’ve got five, and another on the way. If we hadn’t changed things, we’d probably be down to two by now, and that’s a problem.
“Newcomers always start behind. We had to level the playing field, or they’d never catch up, especially with cost caps and development limits. It’s still tough, but at least now it’s possible.
“That's why we simplified some things and cut costs. The compression ratio was one of those changes. We dropped it from 18:1, which was barely reachable, to 16:1 as a compromise.”
The FIA admits, without naming names, that some teams have found ways to push the ratio higher. The goal now is to fix the loophole before the season begins.
“These engineers are clever and always looking for an edge. Some found ways to increase the ratio when the engine’s hot, and that’s what we’re talking about now,” Tombazis said.
“We’ve spent a lot of time trying to solve this. We want it sorted before the first race. The competition should happen on the track, not in the courtroom. That’s the aim.”
FRED VASSEUR REJECTS TEAM ORDERS AS FERRARI DRIVERS DUEL CLEANLY IN SHANGHAI
Lewis Hamilton secures his first Ferrari podium at the Chinese GP as Fred Vasseur praises his drivers' clean racing.
Fred Vasseur felt pretty good about Ferrari’s performance in the Chinese Grand Prix, especially the way his drivers fought each other so cleanly, even though, as he admitted, it could’ve ended up looking like a disaster.
Ferrari started the race in third and fourth, and, right from the get-go, both drivers didn’t hold back. They actually got ahead of the Mercedes for a bit, but it didn't last; they ended up getting passed again. In those early laps, the two Ferraris were stuck between the Mercedes cars: Kimi Antonelli stretched his lead while George Russell stayed glued to their tails.
Lewis Hamilton led George Russell early on, and those two swapped places a bunch of times. Ferrari’s drivers did, too. There were moments when they went side by side, pushing the absolute limit, without ever making contact. Honestly, they kept at it almost the entire race. The last big move happened on Lap 40. Hamilton passed Leclerc and held onto third place, finally putting a red car on the podium for the first time this year.
Even with all that fighting, both Ferraris came home without a scratch. The drivers both said they had a blast; it was tough, hard racing, but always clean.
Vasseur, who runs the show at Ferrari, was quick to praise them. “Huge respect for both of them,” he told the press. “They’re total pros, and it just made sense to let them race. Sure, sometimes you risk looking stupid if things go wrong, but that’s a chance I’m willing to take.”
He was clear about his philosophy early in the season: you’ve got to let the drivers race. No team orders from the pit wall, just a chance to let them build up the team spirit by pushing each other. “This is how you make real progress,” Vasseur said. “As long as they race like they did today, I won’t freeze the positions. Even on the radio, they were telling us they were having fun.”
Once Hamilton got past Leclerc on Lap 40, the order was set. Hamilton got his first podium for Ferrari, which was huge even if his first season with them had been tough so far. Vasseur wasn’t worried, though.
“It’s so much easier the second year,” Vasseur explained. “He’s been part of the project for a while now; he started working with us as far back as mid-2025, doing simulator runs. He’s got more of a stake in this now compared to when he just turned up last January, and the car was already built. He knows everyone better, and working with the team is just smoother.”
But Vasseur knows Ferrari still has a big gap to Mercedes. The team has shown some solid pace in these first two races, but closing that gap will take time. “We’ve got to keep chipping away with those small gains, that’s how we’ll catch up.”
Right now, Ferrari’s battles out on track aren’t causing any problems. As the season goes on, though, Vasseur’s going to have to keep a lid on any tension because the championship’s heating up. Ferrari trails Mercedes by 31 points, and Leclerc and Hamilton are both chasing Russell for the drivers’ title, sitting 17 and 18 points behind.
If Ferrari’s going to have any shot at beating Mercedes, they’ll need to be on it every step of the way and stay ready to jump if their rivals make a mistake.
MCLAREN FACE RELIABILITY CRISIS AFTER LANDO NORRIS AND OSCAR PIASTRI MISS CHINESE GRAND PRIX
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri suffer a double DNS at the Chinese GP due to Mercedes' power unit electrical failures.
McLaren’s hoping to turn things around after a rough weekend in China; both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri couldn’t even start the race on Sunday. For Norris, it’s the first time he’s ever sat out a race since he joined F1. Piastri’s probably even more frustrated that he hasn’t managed a single lap in two races this season. He crashed on his way to the grid back in Australia, and this time, both he and Norris ran into electrical issues with the Mercedes power unit. There just wasn’t enough time to fix anything.
It’s been a long time since things went this sideways for McLaren. The last time both cars missed the start was that weird 2005 U.S. Grand Prix in Indianapolis, when only six cars raced because of the Michelin tyre fiasco.
Oscar Piastri’s still trying to wrap his head around it all. Team boss Andrea Stella summed it up, saying, "It’s tough for Oscar. He still hasn’t started a race this campaign, and you can imagine that’s not easy to handle. But honestly, the guys are keeping their heads up."
He said the team’s gone through crazier stuff. The past season was a big step forward; they developed what they call a ‘winner’s mindset’ inside the team. Last year, when McLaren bagged the double championship, Stella said their real victory wasn’t in Abu Dhabi but in Qatar and Vegas. That’s where they held it together, even when things got messy.
Remember Qatar? Piastri lost a win because the team botched the strategy. Vegas wasn’t any better; both cars got disqualified for a technical issue right after crossing the line in second and fourth.
Stella gets it; you have to tough out these moments. He thinks every setback helps build the team into real champions. He sees that attitude in Piastri, Norris, and pretty much everyone on the crew right now.
He also pointed out that the problems in China weren’t the same in both cars. It just happened that they affected the same component. Pretty lousy luck, really, and not something McLaren could control this early in the season. Stella called it ‘exceptional and uncharacteristic’ for both cars to fail at once, especially for the same part. The team’s working with Mercedes’ High Performance Powertrains to pick it apart and see what’s what. Once they dig deeper, maybe they'll find out if anything on McLaren’s side played a role. But for now, it just stings.
