Wolff makes U-turn on 2026 proposed change he branded ‘a joke’

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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff says Formula 1 should be “open-minded” over a proposed late regulation change to the new 2026 power units, having previously branded it “a joke”.

An F1 Commission meeting took place last month to discuss the possibility of decreasing the amount of electrical energy output from the power units. Changes to the regulations this late before a major overhaul to the rules is unusual in F1.

A vote on the proposal was expected to take place but it did not happen. Four of the five engine manufacturers, which are Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull-Ford Powertrains, Audi and Honda, would have needed to vote in favour of the proposal for the regulations to be changed.

Prior to the meeting, Wolff criticised the proposal and said it was “almost as hilarious as reading some of the comments that I see on Twitter on American politics”. However, he has changed his stance

“Obviously, the closer you come to new regulations, the more people act – all of us – in the interest of the team, that’s their duty,” said Wolff.

“Where we’re coming from is we don’t know how it’s going to pan out next year. Are we going to see energy harvesting disasters in Baku or Monza? I don’t know. We hope not.

“What we’ve signalled is that, rather than act now based on assumptions – like we’ve been great at in previous years and then overshot or undershot – you don’t need to throw the hardware away and come up with something new – it’s within the software and bandwidth of what you can do.

“We’ll see the final product next year in testing. As a power unit manufacturer, we want this to be a great show. We want to win, but we are also aware that in the sport there needs to be variability and unpredictability.”

Mercedes are widely believed to be ahead when it comes to 2026, which is the biggest rule change in F1 history with nearly every technical regulation being changed.

The last engine change in 2014 saw Mercedes dominate for three seasons with Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, before Ferrari, then Red Bull, caught up.

They won the constructors’ title for a record-breaking eight consecutive seasons between 2014 and 2021, plus seven straight drivers’ championships.

“We enjoyed the years from 2014 onwards, but over a prolonged period of time, that’s certainly not the best for the sport,” continued Wolff.

“I try to be very balanced between what is good for Mercedes, which I need to do, and what is the right solution going forward. We need to avoid these swings.

“The FIA proposed this engine. Nobody liked it. The 50 per cent electric back in the day was where road cars were going to and it was a reason to attract manufacturers like Audi and Porsche. So, we did that.

“It’s difficult to change the goalposts, especially for the new ones. Honda recommitted, and Audi committed, and including us, they are not keen on changing those goalposts at this stage. But we need to be open-minded if necessary.”

Horner: Proposal is not a new concern

Red Bull will enter a new era in a technical partnership with Ford as they build their own Red Bull Powertrains engine.

Christian Horner has previously called the proposal “pretty sensible” and thinks any change to the electrical output will purely be to aid the racing spectacle.

“The biggest concern is one that is not new. It’s one that’s been flagged from two years ago by all the PUMs (power unit manufactures) is the amount of harvesting there is,” he said.

“Inevitably the chassis designers will outperform the criteria of the regulations, and a consequence of that will be the amount of lift-and-coast that there will be in a Grand Prix.

“You also have to remember that under the 2026 regs, the car is effectively constantly in DRS mode. As soon as you enter the straight, the wing opens. So, there’ll be no passing mechanism.

“The FIA have raised this topic that was looked at a little while ago again by the PUMs. If it’s genuinely in the interest of the sport and racing, not to have all this lifting and coasting, then I think it’s something that warrants looking at. It doesn’t change the spec or output of the engine. It’s just the amount of battery deployment maybe at certain Grands Prix.”

Wolff, Horner disagree on car weight for 2026

Another issue regarding 2026 is concerns it will be difficult to get near the minimum car weight of 768kg, which is 32kg less than the current cars.

The FIA have lowered the weight in a bid to make next year’s car more nimble to help the racing, which is expected to be achieved with a smaller wheelbase and width.

But, Red Bull boss Horner thinks the new, heavier power units will balance out the smaller cars and tyres.

“A number was plucked out of the air for car weight. We’ve got engines that are significantly heavier and a car weight that has become lower,” he said.

“So it will be an enormous challenge for every team to achieve it. Saving weight costs a colossal amount of money. There was a discussion last week about introducing steel skids – maybe that would warrant adding 5 kilos to the minimum weight.

“But it is what it is. It’s the same for everybody. There will be choices teams make to hit the weight, because weight is free lap time.”

Every 10kg saved in F1 is worth around three tenths per lap, which is a huge margin, therefore a significant weight difference between cars will be key to the pecking order.

Wolff backs the FIA’s current minimum weight limit for 2026.

“Like Christian said, you make choices as a team. How much lap time do you attribute to weight and ballast? Where do you want to save?” he explained.

“You may compromise other performance parts if you want to reduce your weight, or the opposite. It is challenging. The reason we’re doing it is to make the cars more nimble. Is that something that was important? I think it was. We’ve got to start somewhere. That initial step is difficult, but it’s the same for everyone.”

F1’s European season begins with the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on May 16-18, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime

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