{"id":546508,"date":"2026-03-19T10:01:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T10:01:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/546508\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T10:01:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T10:01:11","slug":"why-ferrari-believes-f1-engine-rules-tweak-wont-stop-mercedes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/546508\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Ferrari believes F1 engine rules tweak won’t stop Mercedes"},"content":{"rendered":"

From 1 June, new FIA tests for Formula 1 engines mean Mercedes<\/a>\u2019 compression ratio loophole will be closed \u2013 but it may not be sufficient for Ferrari<\/a> to catch up.<\/p>\n

As the world championship switched to new power units for 2026, the internal combustion engine\u2019s compression ratio was reduced from 18:1 to 16:1. However, the ratio is checked at ambient temperature, and Mercedes found a way to expand it when the engine is running.<\/p>\n

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The Anglo-German team played the trick down, with team principal Toto Wolff arguing it was worth 2-3hp, while Red Bull\u2019s Max Verstappen<\/a> retorted \u201cyou definitely have to add a zero to that, and maybe even more\u201d.<\/p>\n

As Mercedes\u2019 main \u2013 and arguably only \u2013 challenger in the first two grands prix of the season, Ferrari might be closer to Wolff\u2019s stance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m not convinced that the new compression ratio rule will be a huge game changer,\u201d team boss Fred Vasseur said. \u201cIt’s more that you will have the ADUO at one stage \u2013 the introduction of the ADUO will be an opportunity for us to close the gap.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Frederic Vasseur, Ferrari\"Frederic<\/p>\n

Frederic Vasseur, Ferrari<\/p>\n

The \u2018Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities\u2019 mechanism means that power units will be evaluated after the sixth, 12th and 18th grands prix of the season. Each time, manufacturers that are between 2% and 4% down on the best engine\u2019s power will be allowed an additional upgrade, while those who are more than 4% down will get two.<\/p>\n

In the 2026 season, this was going to happen after the Miami round in May, Spa-Francorchamps in July, and Singapore in October. However, the cancellation of April\u2019s Middle Eastern rounds means<\/a> the evaluation will now take place after June\u2019s Monaco race, August\u2019s Zandvoort round and the Mexico City GP on 1 November.<\/p>\n

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\u201cBut once again, it’s not just about pure ICE performance,\u201d Vasseur insisted. \u201cI think you have a lot in the energy management, a lot in the chassis, and it would be a mistake from our side to be just focused on one parameter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regardless, there clearly is a significant gap between Mercedes and Ferrari. So far in qualifying, the lead Silver Arrow was six tenths faster on average; Ferrari was closer in terms of race pace, though that\u2019s partly down to Overtake Mode, according to Vasseur.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the beginning [of the Shanghai race] we were fighting with the Merc,\u201d he said. \u201cAs long as we are in the one-second [window], we can have the extra boost, and we are able to keep the pace, but as soon as they are making the one-second gap, it’s much more difficult. We are pushing perhaps a bit more than them on the opening laps, and then after the first 10 laps of each stint, we are coming back to the four, five tenths a lap that they have.<\/p>\n

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Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari\"Lewis<\/p>\n

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that we have a deficit of performance, mainly in the straight line, that we have to work on it. We are improving because we were eight tenths off in Melbourne, six tenths on Friday, four tenths on Saturday. Step by step we are understanding a bit more the situation and closing the gap, but they are still far away.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s not just about the engine. It means that we have to work everywhere, we have to improve on the chassis, on the tyres, like always. Racing didn’t change, all the components of the performance are still on the table and we don’t have to be focused only on one parameter, but it’s a challenge.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe know that we have to improve on the ICE \u2013 but this will be after the ADUO [evaluation] \u2013 on energy, on chassis, on aero. We are pushing like hell, on every single area to close the gap.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ferrari already has a 31-point deficit to Mercedes in the constructors\u2019 championship, while being 49 points clear of third-placed McLaren<\/a> \u2013 with Ferrari customer Haas one point further in arrears.<\/p>\n

Read Also:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Question of the week: Can anything or anyone stop Mercedes from winning both F1 titles in 2026? <\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

To read more Motorsport.com articles visit our website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From 1 June, new FIA tests for Formula 1 engines mean Mercedes\u2019 compression ratio loophole will be closed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":546509,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[441],"tags":[212942,49,48,168357,578,930,576,577,40610,168358,1881,168330,82,4503],"class_list":["post-546508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-aduo","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-compression-ratio","tag-f1","tag-ferrari","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-frederic-vasseur","tag-internal-combustion-engine","tag-mercedes","tag-power-units","tag-sports","tag-toto-wolff"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/546508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=546508"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/546508\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/546509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=546508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=546508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=546508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}