The FIA says it wants to keep disputes between F1 teams over the sport’s new 2026 power units out of the ‘courts’ and resolve the issue before the start of the new season.
Ahead of the new campaign, which begins with the Australian Grand Prix on March 8, Ferrari, Honda and Audi are understood to be concerned that pre-season title favorites Mercedes and Red Bull, which are producing their own power units for the first time, have established a performance advantage through so-called “loopholes” in the regulations.
The discussion focuses on compression ratio limits amid suggestions from rivals that both manufacturers may have found a way to achieve higher limits than those theoretically imposed by new regulations in 2026.
The compression ratio limit has been lowered from 18.0 in the previous ruleset to 16.0, but measurements are only taken when the engine is not operating at maximum temperature.
In a video interview published by the sport’s governing body on Monday, FIA director of single-seaters Nicolas Tombazis explained his approach to the issue.
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“These engineers are very smart and always looking for an advantage, so some have found ways to potentially increase it (compression ratio) when the engine is hot, and that’s what we’re discussing right now,” Tombazis said.
“We have spent a lot of time discussing how to resolve these issues and our intention is of course to resolve them by the start of the season.
“We don’t want to create controversy. We want people to compete on the track, not in the courts or in the stewards room. That’s what we’re trying to do.”
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There are already talk of fights on both sides of the debate, with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff telling those unhappy with the team’s engine to “get together” and accusing them of “making excuses before they even start”.
Meanwhile, team principals who have been supplied with power units that have not exploited the loophole have been keen to insist that they are confident their engines are legal and compliant with the rules.
The controversy comes amid what is widely considered to be the biggest regulation change in F1 history, with new chassis and power unit regulations being introduced.
Tombazis added: “When new rules come into place, it is impossible not to have discussions in such areas, and this has always been the case.
“I think what has changed is that we are determined to make this a championship of competition between the best drivers, the best engineers and the teams, rather than a championship of rule interpretation.”
“We want it to be a championship of engineering ability, not just driving ability, but it’s really not just a championship of smarter rule interpreters.”
“F1 teams are not even close to voting territory yet”
Sky Sports News reporter Craig Slater said earlier on Monday that there was still hope that a solution could be found in a situation so confusing.
Slater said: “People may have read that Honda, Ferrari, Audi and perhaps even Red Bull were going to join together to force the regulation changes through what was called a ‘supermajority’.”
“I was advised that it was still quite a long way from then.
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“For that to happen, six of the seven people making engine decisions – the five engine manufacturers plus the FIA, the governing body and F1’s commercial rights holders – need to put a rubber stamp on something.
“I don’t think we’re close to voting territory yet. There are other solutions that can be discovered and we still need to discuss them.
“Senior figures in the sport have advised us that even if some teams are a little furious about this issue at the moment, other issues may start to supersede it once the season starts.”
Sky Sports F1 Bahrain test schedule
Test 1: Wednesday 11th, Thursday 12th, Friday 13th February
3:00 PM: Final Hours of Track Driving Live 8:00 PM: Test Lap 8:30 PM: Ted’s Test Notebook
Test 2: Wednesday 18th, Thursday 19th, Friday 20th February
6:50am to 11:05am: Morning session live 11:55am to 4:10pm: Afternoon session live 8pm: Test lap
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