How Toto Wolff privately reacted to rival F1 teams questioning Mercedes’ 2026 engine loophole

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Mercedes are hoping that they can emulate their success at the start of the 2014 Formula 1 regulation changes this season, and the early signs are very promising.

No team ran more laps than Mercedes at the Barcelona shakedown ahead of pre-season testing officially beginning in Bahrain on Wednesday.

George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli were very satisfied with the progress that the W17 made at the Circuit de Catalunya.

There are rumours flying around about Toto Wolff’s Mercedes outfit that potentially make them favourites this year.

Are Mercedes’ rivals hiding behind 2026 ‘excuses’?

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Juan Pablo Montoya thinks Mercedes are hiding four seconds of performance, and if that’s the case, then some of their rivals will need to have been doing a serious amount of sandbagging in Barcelona to be able to compete with those speeds.

One of the reasons why many people believe Mercedes will be so quick is because of a compression ratio loophole that the Silver Arrows have reportedly found in the regulations.

Wolff made his feelings clear in the team’s season launch about suggestions that rival teams are unhappy, and behind the scenes, he’s been even more frustrated with the noises being made elsewhere in the paddock.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Mercedes F1 Team from team principal to lineage

Toto Wolff privately ‘even harsher’ on F1 rivals over compression ratio loophole controversy

A report from F1 Insider has shared more details about the biggest battle going on between all 11 teams, nearly a month before the first race in Australia starts.

There are five power unit suppliers on the grid in 2026, including newcomers Audi and Red Bull Powertrains.

It’s believed that only Mercedes and Red Bull knew about the compression ratio trick heading into the season, which could be worth several tenths per lap.

However, there is now talk that Red Bull are willing to side with the other engine suppliers, as while they may have known about the loophole from defecting engineers who have left Mercedes, they might not have been able to implement it in time for the season starting.

F1 Insider believes that the FIA was involved in the development process of Mercedes’ engine and have already approved the solution.

There is also talk that Mercedes have found a second engine trick that might not have been signed off yet.

The report states that while Wolff has already advised Mercedes’ rivals to focus on their own engines, privately, he’s ‘even harsher’ about their efforts and has rejected any form of compromise.

The FIA may need to compromise, which could mean measuring the compression ratio at different temperatures or even ruling that the trick is illegal, but for that change in the regulations to come in next season.

There are already suggestions that Ferrari might protest the result of the Australian Grand Prix if Mercedes are as dominant as many expect, which would be the worst possible start to the new era of the sport for Formula 1.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Mercedes F1 CEO and team principal Toto Wolff

Toto Wolff wary of predicting Mercedes dominance during the 2026 F1 season

One of the biggest issues that F1 faces every time the regulations are updated is that the grid suddenly diverges, and if one team finds a loophole, then the competitive landscape of the sport immediately changes.

The 2025 season was the most competitive in F1 history, with all 20 cars regularly separated by less than a second in qualifying.

There’s almost no chance of that happening this year, especially with Audi and Cadillac attempting to get up to speed as they enter Formula 1 for the first time.

Despite the early promise of the Mercedes car, Wolff isn’t getting carried away, and said after the Barcelona shakedown: “I’m really happy how it went for us, in the sense of the interaction of the power unit, deployment and the chassis.

“Having said that, we had a solid three days, that is something to build upon, but we don’t have really a performance picture yet.

“We haven’t seen Max [Verstappen] driving the [Red Bull] car fast; we haven’t seen McLaren and Ferrari doing what they can do.

“So, I would carefully refrain from saying it was great for us – we simply don’t know.”