Wolff accuses rivals of pressuring FIA over engine rule change, says Mercedes unfazed
Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team boss Toto Wolff on Thursday accused rival manufacturers of putting pressure on the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) over a proposed change to engine rules, but said the outcome would make little difference to his team.
Wolff was speaking during pre-season testing in Bahrain, a day after the FIA announced an e-vote proposal to close a suspected loophole with a rule change expected from August.
Rivals have alleged that Mercedes, which supplies four teams including champion McLaren, had exploited a grey area involving compression ratios and thermal expansion of engine components to gain performance.
Wolff said Mercedes would accept the proposed amendment but questioned how the issue had developed.
“Either we stay with the regulations as they are or the e-vote goes ahead with the proposal from the FIA. Both are OK for us,” he said.
“We said all along that this looks like a storm in a teacup.
“It doesn’t change anything for us, whether we stay like this or move to the new regulations. We also want to be good citizens in the sport.”
He said the concern from rivals would be understandable if the performance figures circulating were accurate.
“If you have four other power unit manufacturers putting immense pressure on the FIA at a certain stage, what choice do we have than to take part?” Wolff said.
The other power unit suppliers are Ferrari, Red Bull Racing, Honda and Audi, with all preparing for a major regulatory shift as Formula One enters a new engine era.
“You’ve developed a component to the regulations and that’s been confirmed, and then everybody else gangs up and says it’s illegal. The regulators are being put under pressure. Is that how it should go?” Wolff said.
“Philosophically I disagree. But that’s what has happened the last 50 years in Formula One. This time we were on the receiving end. Maybe next time we will be the ones questioning someone else.”
Wolff also dismissed reports that Mercedes had faced issues certifying its 100 per cent sustainable fuel.
“This is another of the stories. We were told compression ratio is something we were illegal with, which is total nonsense. And now the next story is that our fuel is illegal,” he said.
“Maybe tomorrow we’re inventing something else.”
The season begins in Australia on March 8.
Published on Feb 19, 2026