Toto Wolff hits out at Mercedes rivals for ‘snitching’ to the FIA about their car

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Toto Wolff says Mercedes’ rivals have complained about their 2026 F1 car multiple times without success. The Silver Arrows entered the season as favourites but are perhaps even more dominant than expected.

Mercedes have qualified one-two for all three races so far in 2026. While Ferrari challenged George Russell in Australia and the China Sprint, the Briton ultimately asserted his superiority.

The F1 off-season was dominated by the fuel compression ratio saga, with Mercedes accused of exceeding the limit in a manner that couldn’t be detected by the FIA.

Toto Wolff says Mercedes rivals ‘keep going to the FIA to complain’

Speaking to L’Equipe, Wolff belittled complaints from rival manufacturers as ‘snitching’. He claims the FIA have repeatedly rebuffed their protests.

President Mohammed Ben Sulayem has declared the car ‘100% legal’, and reports suggest that Mercedes received assurances from the FIA engine boss over the winter.

“I’ve been in Formula 1 too long not to know that this sport is also about politics and how you can make the rules work in your team’s favour,” said Wolff. “Snitching to the general supervisor is exhausting.

• READ MORE: Mercedes have only dialled their 2026 F1 engine to ‘3.5 out of 5’ so they don’t ‘show off’

“They keep going to the FIA ​​to complain, but the FIA ​​tells them everything is legal. The FIA ​​tells them a second time, even a third, and finally says they’ll look into it, even though the president himself has stated that everything is 100% legal.”

The FIA will introduce a new compression ratio test at the start of June aimed at closing the loophole. While Lewis Hamilton raised suspicions over Mercedes’ engine in Australia, the issue has largely fallen silent.

‘An ingenious idea’ – Toto Wolff on Mercedes’ 2026 engine trick

While Wolff would not explicitly confirm whether Mercedes were using the alleged trickery, he did hint in general terms that it would be an ‘ingenious’ reading of the regulations.

“An ingenious idea is one that complies with a rule and has been validated by the FIA,” he said. “It meets the rule. That’s an ingenious idea.”

However, Wolff said it was ‘rubbish’ to suggest that Mercedes had gained as much as 10 horsepower. He remains on good terms with Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur despite the competitive tension between the two teams.

Ferrari are resisting a separate change to the 2026 rules, this time concerning race starts. They feel it’s unfair to raise the energy recovery limit on the formation lap, which could lead to more consistent getaways throughout the field.

Russell has called Ferrari ‘selfish’ and ‘silly’ for expressing opposition to the idea.