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The FIA is facing a logistical deadlock ahead of the Australian Grand Prix as experts warn that mandatory changes to Mercedes’ engine compression ratios may be physically impossible to implement before the 2026 F1 season opener.
The ongoing saga involving Mercedes’ compression ratio trick in their new 2026 F1 engine continues to head in the direction of reaching a boiling point, and the FIA are now facing some very difficult decisions.
Ferrari have been ‘lobbying’ the FIA to take action against the Silver Arrows for some time now, and they have been joined in an alliance with Red Bull Powertrains, Honda and Audi to battle Mercedes.
However, it has emerged that the issue is a lot more complicated than a simple black-and-white ban, which has made it even tougher for the FIA to keep every team happy, as well as satisfy the sporting integrity of F1.
Is Toto Wolff playing mind games with Red Bull?
The FIA are facing an ‘impossible question’ of what to do with Mercedes-powered F1 cars at the Australian GP
During a round-up after day two of the 2026 pre-season test in Bahrain, F1 journalist Ronald Vording revealed his “off the record” conversation with experts inside the paddock regarding the action that the FIA can take against the Silver Arrows.
He began by referencing Toto Wolff’s finger-pointing at Red Bull on the first day of the test, where the Mercedes chief emphatically declared that the Austrian constructor have the ‘fastest car’ on the grid.
Personnel from the Brackley-based outfit’s customer teams have shared similar sentiments, which has made it clear that Mercedes are trying to shift some of the heat off themselves.
Vording then revealed that all of the experts he had spoken to off the record “hinted” at it being “almost impossible” for the FIA to do anything about the alleged loophole that the German constructor has found during the current term.
This is because the 3D printed pistons can’t be adjusted at the snap of a finger, so any amendments that need to be made won’t be done in time for the next round of racing.
That raises the “impossible question” of the type of action that the FIA take for the eight Mercedes-powered cars at the season-opener in Melbourne.
Mercedes have already threatened to boycott the Australian GP if the FIA take action, which further reinforces the idea that the sport’s governing body have been cornered into not taking any action at all.
A season-opener with nearly half of the cars missing from the grid would be a crisis for a new set of regulations that has never been seen before in F1.
Are Mercedes’ rivals hiding behind 2026 ‘excuses’?
One of F1’s most controversial races saw just six cars take part in the 2005 United States Grand Prix
The last time that there was such a high-profile boycott of an F1 race came during the 2005 season at the United States Grand Prix.
Due to safety concerns with Michelin-branded tyres at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway, every customer of the French manufacturer boycotted the Grand Prix, leaving the six Bridgestone-represented teams to take part.
It has been hailed as the worst race in F1 history, with the fans who were in attendance sharing their fury by booing the entirety of the race.
Despite the controversy, it also offered an opportunity for the regular backmarkers at Jordan. Tiago Monteiro claimed his first and only F1 podium that weekend, capitalising on the lack of competition to secure a third-place finish for the Irish constructor.
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