An unconfirmed theory about how Mercedes and Red Bull have circumvented F1\u2019s power unit compression ratio regulations has emerged in Germany.<\/p>\n
Pre-season has been dominated by concerns that a loophole in the FIA, said to be exploited by Mercedes and Red Bull, could have significant competitive consequences through the F1 2026 season.<\/p>\n
Mercedes power unit compression ratio theory put forward<\/p>\n
The loophole is concerned with the compression ratio which for 2026 has been reduced to 16:1 under the new regulations, down from 18:1.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s understood both Red Bull and Mercedes have found a way of producing a 16:1 reading when in the garage \u2013 where it is tested at ambient temperature \u2013 but increasing to 18:1 out on track.<\/p>\n
Much discussions take place behind the scenes, including meetings with the FIA and the power unit advisory committee as recently as Thursday, with\u00a0Auto Motor und Sport (AMuS)<\/a>\u00a0now proposing an unconfirmed theory on how such a system could work.<\/p>\n The German outlet suggests that it is to do with how the individual components expand differently under heat and that Mercedes has used 3D printing to create special pistons for this reason \u2013 which raises the compression ratio to 17:1.<\/p>\n According to AMuS, Mercedes has also connected a small pocket with a volume of one cubic centimetre to the combustion chamber via a thin channel near the pre-chamber spark plug at the very top of the cylinder.<\/p>\n During a static test, this volume fills up as the piston moves. When the power unit is at higher temperatures, a critical pressure value must be exceeded so that the volume does not expand into the narrow channel during compression. The impact of that would be to\u00a0further increase the compression ratio.<\/p>\n AMuS suggests that Red Bull also discovered this trick but has yet to build a reliable solution to exploit it.<\/p>\n During the car\u2019s launch this week, Mercedes team principal and part-owner Toto Wolff insisted that everything his team has produced was legal.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen it comes to the engine question, I just don\u2019t understand that some teams concentrate more on the others and keep arguing a case that is very clear and transparent,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n More on the engine talk from PlanetF1.com<\/p>\n *\u00a0FIA moves to shut down F1 2026 engine \u2018loophole\u2019 fears ahead of Australian GP<\/a> \u201cCommunication with the FIA was very positive all along. And it\u2019s not only on compression ratio, but on other things too \u2013 and specifically in that area, it\u2019s very clear what the regulation says, very clear what the, let\u2019s say, standard procedures are on any motors, even outside of Formula 1.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, just get your s*** together and\u2026you know, doing secret meetings and sending secret letters, and keep trying to invent ways of testing that just don\u2019t exist is\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cI can just say at least from us here, we are trying to minimise distractions, and minimising distractions is looking more at us than everybody else.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s pretty clear what the what the regs say, and also pretty clear what the FIA has said to us and has said to them so far.<\/p>\n \u201cBut maybe, we\u2019re all different. Maybe you want to find excuses before you even started, why things are not good.<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody needs to do it at the best of their ability, but that is really not how is not how we how we would do things, especially not after you\u2019ve been told a few times that that is fine, it\u2019s legal, and it\u2019s what the regulations say.<\/p>\n \u201cAgain, if somebody wants to entertain themselves by distraction, then everybody\u2019s free to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n
*\u00a0F1 2026 engine \u2018loophole\u2019 claims: What\u2019s really going on?<\/a>
*\u00a0Toto Wolff tells F1 rivals \u2018get your s*** together\u2019 over PU loophole<\/a><\/p>\n