James Hinchcliffe doesn’t believe what ‘everyone’ in the paddock is saying about Mercedes’ 2026 F1 car

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Former IndyCar star turned F1 pundit James Hinchcliffe has rubbished claims from the F1 paddock regarding the performance of Mercedes’ 2026 F1 engine as the regulations draw closer with every passing race weekend.

F1’s new engine regulations are arguably the most crucial aspect of the new ruleset that was proposed by the FIA towards the end of the 2022 season. It marks the first change in spec of the power units since the turbo-hybrid system was introduced in 2014.

Mercedes dominated the sport in the proceeding years, and have been tipped to replicate their success next year as well.

As the manufacturer with the most in-demand engine, the Silver Arrows will be supplying four teams with their power units next season.

Alpine are moving away from their works status with Renault to enjoy German muscle, whereas Aston Martin are swapping the Mercedes power for Honda as they enter a new era as well.

READ MORE: Max Verstappen makes ‘very strong’ Mercedes 2026 F1 claim after deciding to stay at Red Bull

Former IndyCar star James Hinchcliffe rubbishes the rumours surrounding Mercedes’ 2026 F1 engine

Mercedes’ 2026 engine has been the talk of the town throughout the F1 paddock, but the credibility of the claims has been questioned by Hinchcliffe, who has doubts over the reasoning behind why the Silver Arrows are leading the development race despite there being no hard evidence.

Carlos Sainz has heard ‘positive’ things about the engine, whereas his Williams team principal, James Vowles, has played down the ‘talk in the paddock’.

Speaking on an episode of The Fast and the Curious podcast, the former IndyCar star touched upon his doubts in a conversation about the leading teams next year, saying, “This is the other thing that I’m so fascinated by because where’s that information coming from?

“Who at Ferrari is like, ‘no, I’ve seen the Mercedes numbers way better than ours.’ Nobody’s saying that. Everyone’s going off the last time there was a big engine will change, which Mercedes dominated.

“So are you sitting here telling me today that Honda’s gonna be garbage?  Because they didn’t do too hot the last time that I don’t think that’s the case, certainly.”

“But everyone just sort of defaults to Mercedes being the one that had the edge. Maybe they do. Maybe they will. But I haven’t seen any actually good evidence or good reasoning short of, well, past results are a guarantee of future results.”

The rumours have been speculated to be a secret ploy from Mercedes to destabilise Max Verstappen’s position at Red Bull, and possibly open him up to a switch to Brackley in the future.

Toto Wolff has his heart set on working with the four-time world champion at some point in his career, so it certainly fits his motive.

READ MORE: Red Bull’s latest upgrades spark worrying ‘theory’ about Max Verstappen’s 2026 Formula 1 car

F1 teams have been sending incorrect data to Pirelli in order to hide their 2026 developments

To further skew the rumours of who will be on top once the meaningful sessions of the 2026 F1 season begin in Australia next year, F1 teams have been sending incorrect data to Pirelli in an attempt to mask how far along they are with their developments.

Along with the changes in the engine sides of things, the tyres that F1 cars will use are also being amended.

The 2026 Pirellis will be narrower in width on both axles, so it’s paramount that they receive the correct figures from the teams that have taken part in tyre tests during the current campaign.

The change in spec has already seen an uptick in performance. Paul Aron bested Lando Norris’ pole position time at the Hungarian Grand Prix during the tyre test that took place in the days following the race weekend.

The Italian tyre supplier has warned the grid that the vast range of data they have been delivered with will only harm their chances of being given suitable sets of rubber in the upcoming year.