Formula 1 power unit manufacturers and the FIA will hold a meeting to discuss a loophole in the 2026 regulations.It has emerged that Mercedes and Red Bull Ford Powertrains have managed to find a way to increase the compression of their internal combustion engines.
As per the 2026 rules, the new compression ratio is 16:1 compared to 18:1 in the previous set, and it is measured by the FIA at ambient temperatures.
The reports claimed that Mercedes and Red Bull have managed to find a way to comply with the tests when the engines are odd but then increase their compression ratios when the engines are running.
The FIA regulations say: “No cylinder of the engine may have a geometric compression ratio higher than 16.0.
“The procedure to measure this value will be detailed by each PU manufacturer according to the guidance document FIA-F1-DOC-C042 and executed at ambient temperature.
“This procedure must be approved by the FIA technical department and included in the PU manufacturer homologation dossier.”
However, there is still concern
That has raised concern by Honda, Audi, and Ferrari that their rivals will have a considerable competitive edge, claiming they are in violation of the regulations.
The three manufacturers referred to Article C1.5, which says: “Formula 1 cars must comply with these regulations in their entirety at all times during a competition.”
The aforementioned meeting will thus take place on January 22, with an FIA spokesperson saying: “As is customary with the introduction of new regulations, discussions on the 2026 iteration covering power unit and chassis are ongoing.
“The meeting planned for 22 January is between technical experts. As always, the FIA assesses the situation in order to make sure the regulations are understood and applied in the same manner between all the participants,” the FIA added.
To avoid a repetition of what happened in 2014, when Mercedes enjoyed a huge advantage over their rivals with their V6 turbo-hybrid power unit, the FIA have introduced Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO).
This mechanism allowed teams that are behind to catch up, as the FIA will measure the power of the internal combustion engines every six races.
Manufacturers that are between 2% and 4% down on the top internal combustion engine will be granted one additional upgrade. Those who are more than 4% down get two.