{"id":67087,"date":"2025-08-14T07:36:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-14T07:36:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/67087\/"},"modified":"2025-08-14T07:36:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T07:36:10","slug":"fia-chief-insists-that-one-mercedes-feat-will-not-be-repeated-under-the-2026-f1-regulations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/67087\/","title":{"rendered":"FIA chief insists that one Mercedes feat will not be repeated under the 2026 F1 regulations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Formula 1 teams are beginning to move solely towards developing their 2026 cars as the new regulations draw closer.<\/p>\n

With an entirely new car design, as well as a new power unit with a large emphasis on electrical power, the pecking order is set to be shaken up come 2026. None of the teams or manufacturers know where they stand, but rumours have suggested who may have the advantage.<\/p>\n

TEAMDRIVER 1DRIVER 2AlpinePierre GaslyN\/AAston MartinFernando AlonsoLance StrollAudiGabriel BortoletoNico HulkenbergCadillacN\/AN\/AFerrariCharles LeclercLewis HamiltonHaasEsteban OconOliver BearmanMcLarenLando NorrisOscar PiastriMercedesN\/AN\/ARacing BullsN\/AN\/ARed Bull RacingMax VerstappenN\/AWilliamsAlex AlbonCarlos Sainz2026 confirmed F1 drivers<\/p>\n

Mercedes are tipped to have the fastest engine<\/a> under the 2026 regulations<\/a>. Meanwhile, there are concerns surrounding Red Bull\u2019s power unit<\/a>, which they are designing with Ford, while Ferrari are said to be behind Audi<\/a> with their engine.<\/p>\n

Mercedes<\/a> have a strong reputation with regulation changes, having aced the turbo hybrid era in 2014 and won seven drivers\u2019 titles and eight constructors\u2019 championships. There is a fear in the paddock that one manufacturer will dominate F1 under the new rules in 2026.<\/p>\n

\"MercedesPhoto by Marco Canoniero\/LightRocket via Getty ImagesNikolas Tombazis doesn\u2019t think one engine manufacturer will dominate in 2026 as Mercedes did in 2014<\/p>\n

Mercedes won all but three races in 2014 as Lewis Hamilton<\/a> claimed his second world championship. The Silver Arrows are being backed to return to the top next season with George Russell<\/a> and Kimi Antonelli<\/a>, but Max Verstappen has doubts about that claim<\/a> due to the uncertainty with the battery.<\/p>\n

In light of these concerns, FIA<\/a> chief Nikolas Tombazis says that there will not be that level of dominance in 2026. Speaking with Auto Motor und Sport<\/a>, he says the new rules have gone in the opposite direction from 2014.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019ll see another engine manufacturer dominate the way it did in 2014. Back then, the drive system was much more complicated than its predecessor. This time, we\u2019re doing the opposite. We are simplifying the technology. <\/p>\n

\u201cOriginally, we wanted to go even further, but we didn\u2019t get it through. The new powertrains are simpler. They no longer have MGU-H, and there are stricter limits in some areas. <\/p>\n

\u201cOn the other hand, we have newcomers among the manufacturers, and there is always the risk that one of them will miss the mark with their first attempt. Despite budget limits and limited test bench time.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ MORE: All you need to know about Mercedes F1 Team from team principal to lineage<\/a><\/p>\n

\"ThePhoto by Marco Canoniero\/LightRocket via Getty ImagesThe FIA will allow extra benefits to manufacturers if they fall behind in 2026<\/p>\n

F1 drivers have been \u2018very critical\u2019 of the new rules<\/a> after testing in the simulator. Several, including Lewis Hamilton, are concerned that next year\u2019s cars are much slower than the current generation.<\/p>\n

Tombazis is \u2018surprised\u2019 by Hamilton\u2019s claim<\/a> and how important an issue people are finding it to be. While there is every chance that a manufacturer will fall behind, he has suggested that they will have the chance to make improvements, whether that be with extra testing or funding.<\/p>\n

Asked whether manufacturers will have the opportunity to catch up, Tombazis added: \u201cYes. We have introduced a program for this purpose, which we call \u2018additional development opportunities for performance deficits\u2019.<\/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

\u201cIt was in the rules from the outset. In recent months, we have clarified how we intend to handle it. Essentially, we will measure the average performance for each manufacturer every six races. <\/p>\n

\u201cFor those who are below a certain level, there will be an opportunity for retrofitting, depending on how big the gap is. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis can be represented in three different levels: more money for development, more test bench hours, and more time for homologation of the specification. So those who are behind have a chance to catch up.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Formula 1 teams are beginning to move solely towards developing their 2026 cars as the new regulations…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":67088,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[10860,64,63,837,945,806,805,803,804,53374,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-67087","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-fia","12":"tag-mercedes","13":"tag-motor","14":"tag-motor-sports","15":"tag-motosport","16":"tag-motosports","17":"tag-nikolas-tombazis","18":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67087","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=67087"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67087\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}