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Otmar Szafnauer has outlined two new Formula 1 rules that could hold teams back in their bid to catch Mercedes.
So far in the 2026 F1 season, Mercedes have been the dominant force, with Kimi Antonelli leading the world championship over teammate George Russell.
It has been well documented that Mercedes have managed to get the best out of F1’s new regulations.
As a result, teams will be working around the clock to bring upgrades to the next few races in order to close the gap to the Silver Arrows.
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Otmar Szafnauer says teams could be held back in bid to catch Mercedes
Speaking recently on the High Performance Racing podcast, ex-Alpine team boss Szafnauer explained that two new rules could prevent teams from catching Mercedes.
He said: “I’ll tell you what I think, they have done a great job on the powertrain. And for the first time ever, there is a powertrain cost cap; you can’t infinitely spend your way out of a bad powertrain if you don’t have a Mercedes because there is a cost cap.
“So that will hold some of the others back and will allow the advantage that they have today to stay.
“Number two, there is also a freeze that comes in, a progressive freeze on the powertrain, first time ever, so those two things will maintain their advantage on the powertrain side.
“There is if you’re so far behind, there are tokens that you can have to redevelop, and there might even be headroom on cost cap, I don’t know the rules that well; I need to ask the question. But you have got to be two or four or more per cent behind for that to happen.
“I think there are talks now that Mercedes are not showing their true hands, so that Ferrari are now within that two per cent, so they don’t get any further development tokens.”
Should F1 make small tweaks to the rules, rather than major changes?
READ MORE: Otmar Szafnauer explains why Mercedes actually have a ‘harder job’ in 2026 despite early dominance
Toto Wolff urges FIA to be careful with ADUO allowance
Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO) is part of the brand-new regulations brought in by the FIA ahead of the 2026 season.
It has been designed to give teams that are two per cent behind the manufacturer with the best-performing engine development opportunities.
As reported by Sky Sports, Wolff said: “The principle of the ADUO was to allow teams that were on the back foot in terms of the power unit to catch up, but not to leapfrog.
“It needs to be very clear that whatever decisions are being made, whichever team is granted ADUO, that any such decision may have a big impact on the performance picture and on the championship, if not done with absolute precision and clarity and transparency.
“It needs to be clear that gamesmanship hasn’t got any place here, but it needs to be with the right spirit here that the FIA acts upon an ADUO.”
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