{"id":367782,"date":"2025-12-24T00:54:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-24T00:54:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/367782\/"},"modified":"2025-12-24T00:54:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-24T00:54:12","slug":"f1-power-unit-supplier-tried-to-block-fuel-access-to-customer-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/367782\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;F1 power unit supplier tried to block fuel access to customer team&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gpblog.com\/en\/f1\" title=\"F1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">F1<\/a> 2026 will usher in the sport\u2019s new era, and early in the running it will be crucial for teams to have as many advantages in hand as possible, as not just race wins, but both world titles will be on the line.<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"280\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/mercedes-abu-dhabi-69497d182391b.jpg@webp.webp\" class=\"w-auto h-auto\" alt=\"mercedes-abu-dhabi\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Mercedes are rumoured to have exploited key engine regulations loophole.\u00a0Photo: Race Pictures<\/p>\n<p>One only needs to look back at Brawn GP\u2019s precocious double-title success in 2009, which gave birth to one of the sport\u2019s greatest underdog stories.<\/p>\n<p>Back then, a remarkable piece of aerodynamic ingenuity propelled the team to a historic title in their debut season, cementing their status as F1\u2019s ultimate one-hit wonder.<\/p>\n<p>In 2026, however, with the technical regulation revamp representing not only one of the biggest changes in F1 history but also one of the most restrictive, teams have dived deep into the rulebook to do what they do best: hunt for loopholes.<\/p>\n<p>One such area is with an increase in engine compression ratios, with reports claiming that Mercedes have found a method to mitigate clipping &#8211; when the new generation of F1 cars reach a power output limit while on long straights &#8211; a role previously fulfilled by the MGU-H until its removal after the final race in Abu Dhabi, which also eliminated the turbo\u2019s inherent lag.<\/p>\n<p>Engine manufacturers&#8217; attempts to deny customer team access to fuel<\/p>\n<p>In 2026, F1 cars will run on fully sustainable, environmentally responsible fuel, produced largely from organic biomass and residual waste. With its implementation being a first for the sport, sizeable performance margins are there to be exploited, and already a power unit supplier and one of its customers have locked horns.<\/p>\n<p>GPblog understands one power unit manufacturer has attempted to deny a customer team access to a specific fuel specification, highlighting just how significant the fuel\u2019s performance impact could be.<\/p>\n<p>Customer teams have since demanded access to the correct fuel for their respective engines, pulling back the curtain on a new and fiercely contested front in Formula 1\u2019s relentless war for competitive advantage.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gpblog.com\/en\/news\/f1-teams-partners-also-have-to-adapt-as-new-sustainability-rules-take-effect\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Here you can review who the F1 teams&#8217; fuel suppliers are.<\/a>&#8216;Mercedes and Red Bull have an edge&#8217;Rumors claim some manufacturers complained to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gpblog.com\/en\/fia\" title=\"FIA\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">FIA<\/a> about a loophole in the 2026 F1 power unit rules that Mercedes and Red Bull Ford may be exploiting. F1&#8217;s governing body has since clarified the rulebook to prevent any rule breach. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gpblog.com\/en\/rumors\/two-f1-engine-manufacturers-to-gain-on-rivals-in-2026-loophole-controversy\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read the full story here.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Want to stay up-to-date with what happens in the F1 paddock? Then GPblog&#8217;s F1 Paddock Update video is the perfect way to do it. Subscribe to GPblog&#8217;s YouTube channel and turn on notifications to never miss the latest episodes.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"F1 2026 will usher in the sport\u2019s new era, and early in the running it will be crucial&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":367783,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[64,63,817,35119,1379,837,813,816,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-367782","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-formula-1","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-f1","11":"tag-f1-news","12":"tag-features","13":"tag-fia","14":"tag-formula-1","15":"tag-formula1","16":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367782","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=367782"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367782\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/367783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=367782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=367782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=367782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}