{"id":198688,"date":"2025-10-08T21:07:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T21:07:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/198688\/"},"modified":"2025-10-08T21:07:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T21:07:07","slug":"james-vowles-and-carlos-sainz-address-talk-in-the-paddock-regarding-mercedes-2026-f1-power-unit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/198688\/","title":{"rendered":"James Vowles and Carlos Sainz address \u2018talk in the paddock\u2019 regarding Mercedes\u2019 2026 F1 power unit"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"\/ Follow us on Google Discover <\/a> <\/p>\n

With the 2026 F1 regulations steadily approaching, Williams\u2019 James Vowles and Carlos Sainz have addressed the \u2018talk in the paddock\u2019 regarding the performance of Mercedes\u2019 brand new power unit.<\/p>\n

F1\u2019s new 2026 regulations<\/a> have seen teams scramble to start work on their new F1 challenger, with all 11 teams eyeing the new ruleset as a chance to start over and make a challenge for a Formula 1 title.<\/p>\n

Mercedes<\/a> are tipped to have the best power unit at the moment, due to their past feat with the 2014 regulation change that saw the Silver Arrows turn into a dominant force on the grid powered by turbo-hybrid engines.<\/p>\n

TEAMENGINERed BullRed Bull Powertrains (in partnership with Ford)FerrariFerrariMcLarenMercedesMercedesMercedesAston MartinHondaRacing BullsRed Bull Powertrains (in partnership with Ford)HaasFerrariWilliamsMercedesAlpineMercedesAudiAudiCadillacFerrariF1 engine suppliers for the 2026 season<\/p>\n

Staff at Mercedes are trying to downplay the idea<\/a> that they will emerge at the top of the pecking order again in 2026, something that George Russell has also attempted to do<\/a> during the current campaign. <\/p>\n

However, Carlos Sainz\u2019s<\/a> optimism for the new Mercedes engine, as a driver for a customer team to the German constructor, is a little bit more telling. <\/p>\n

READ MORE: Ferrari preparing \u2018extreme\u2019 2026 solution that could counter Mercedes\u2019 reported power unit \u2018advantage\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

Carlos Sainz reveals everything he has heard about Mercedes\u2019 2026 F1 engine has been \u2018positive\u2019<\/p>\n

Sainz has been helping Mercedes<\/a> with the development of their new engine in hopes of giving himself the best chance of returning to the cockpit in 2026 with a competitive car underneath him. <\/p>\n

Speaking in an interview on El Partidazo de COPE, the Spaniard openly shared his enthusiasm over the new power unit, whilst also identifying the issues that will come with it.<\/p>\n

Asked if he believes in the rumours about the engine that are currently circulating the paddock, the 31-year-old replied, \u201cYes, I have a lot of confidence in the Mercedes engine. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s actually one of the main reasons I chose Williams<\/a> for this new regulation change. I knew we\u2019d be running the Mercedes power unit, and everything I\u2019ve heard about it has been positive, and still is. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut of course, we can\u2019t forget that Mercedes will have the Mercedes engine, McLaren will have it, Alpine will have it, and so will Williams. That\u2019s already four teams, eight cars, with the same engine, and two of those teams, especially McLaren, are superior right now. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo, no matter how good the engine is, you still need to get everything right with the chassis. And of course, Aston Martin with Honda will be competitive, and Ferrari will always be there. Ferrari are always in the fight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alpine are the newest F1 team to become a customer of Mercedes for the upcoming season, after parent company Renault called it quits on the development of their own engines.<\/p>\n

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is wary of the threat that comes with Alpine<\/a> using their power units, which may add another rival to their eyeline if they do emerge as the dominant power unit suppliers.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Oliver Oakes explains crucial reason why Alpine chose Mercedes power units over other F1 options<\/a><\/p>\n

James Vowles plays down the \u2018talk in the paddock\u2019 about Mercedes\u2019 2026 F1 engine being superior<\/p>\n

Williams team boss James Vowles<\/a> was also asked about the credibility of the rumours surrounding the performance of Mercedes\u2019 2026 F1 engines on the Beyond the Grid podcast. <\/p>\n

In contrast to Sainz\u2019s verdict, the British engineer was a lot more tight-lipped, saying, \u201cIt\u2019s an interesting talk in the paddock because no one knows. That\u2019s just the facts behind it. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not like all the [power unit] manufacturers come together with some cards, top trumps, and go, OK, I\u2019m here on power, I\u2019m here on electrical, I\u2019m here on weight, I\u2019m here on cooling efficiency. <\/p>\n

\u201cMercedes have always done well with regulation changes, because they get ahead of the curve, they forward invest ahead of the curve. There\u2019s no doubt about that. But the reality behind it is we don\u2019t know what Ferrari have got, or what Honda have got. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just a complete unknown at this point in time. So, I\u2019m really pleased with the work that we say these have done with the preparation and their development, but until the lights go out in Australia, no one knows.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before the lights go out in Australia, the grid will take part in a private test in Barcelona at the end of January, before two more tests take place at the Sakhir International Circuit in February. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Follow us on Google Discover With the 2026 F1 regulations steadily approaching, Williams\u2019 James Vowles and Carlos Sainz…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":198689,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[10860,64,63,4971,21764,945,806,805,803,804,85,1803],"class_list":{"0":"post-198688","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-motosport","8":"tag-2026-f1-regulations","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-carlos-sainz","12":"tag-james-vowles","13":"tag-mercedes","14":"tag-motor","15":"tag-motor-sports","16":"tag-motosport","17":"tag-motosports","18":"tag-sports","19":"tag-williams-racing"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198688","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=198688"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198688\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/198689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=198688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=198688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=198688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}