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Ferrari are believed to be one of the teams complaining to the FIA about Mercedes’ 2026 F1 car. The dispute concerns fuel compression ratios.
Mercedes are accused of exceeding the maximum ratio (16:1) on track, but they have apparently found a way to do this while still complying with the FIA’s static tests. Under the current rules, there’s no way of proving the allegation.
It could be argued that this isn’t in the spirit of the rules. What’s more, article 1.5 C of the regulations stipulates that teams must be in compliance throughout an event.
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There has even been talk that Ferrari could lodge a protest after the first round of the season in Australia, but F1 pundit Ralf Schumacher reacted angrily to the suggestion on Sky’s Backstage Boxengasse podcast.
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Schumacher made reference to the controversy around Ferrari’s 2019 engine. Max Verstappen even accused them of ‘cheating’ at the time, though he later acknowledged that this remark was ill-judged.
Rival teams theorised that Ferrari were exceeding the maximum fuel flow rate. The Scuderia were blitzing the competition in a straight line, which helped them score victories in Belgium and Italy, but the advantage seemingly disappeared after a series of FIA technical directives.
Ferrari reached a private settlement with F1’s governing body, who couldn’t definitively prove that the engine was illegal.
Schumacher hinted that Fred Vasseur’s team are being hypocritical by questioning the legality of the Mercedes power unit. He believes the Silver Arrows’ risk-taking should be celebrated.
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“I think Ferrari, of all teams, should keep their mouths shut,” he said. “I remember that fuel also came from a place where it shouldn’t have.
“If the rule is written in such a way that there’s a possibility, and someone was clever enough to exploit it, and it even stands, that’s also a risk.
“The engineers at Mercedes sit down and say: ‘Okay, we could do it that way, but it could all backfire on us.'”
How did the Mercedes fuel compression trick leak?
Initial reports suggested that Red Bull were using the same loophole as Mercedes.
However, Red Bull have strongly denied any trickery with their engine, so it may only be the four Mercedes-powered teams who are operating in the grey area.
Christian Horner said that Red Bull Powertrains hired hundreds of staff from Mercedes in preparation for their 2026 debut. Perhaps the staff who had departed Brixworth shared details with their new employers, but that doesn’t necessarily mean RBPT could replicate their method.
This is pure speculation, of course. But what we can say is that Ferrari have formed an alliance with Honda and Audi to push for a clampdown.
Tthe consensus is that the FIA won’t expand their checks until 2027 at the earliest.
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