Mercedes and Ferrari strongly denied accusations that they are trying to make things difficult for Volkswagen by deliberately delaying the finalisation of the rules and regulations for the 2026 championship.
Audi and Porsche, which are both brands owned by Volkswagen, want to enter Formula One in 2026 but for now the regulations have not yet been finalised. Last weekend, Red Bull boss Christian Horner confirmed that an official announcement regarding the regulations should come in the next week, while Alpine boss Otmar Szafnauer said the “big things have been decided”.
But no announcement is expected for the Austrian Grand Prix weekend for the rule changes which will see an overhaul of the power-unit regulations from 2026. Audi and Porsche’s imminent arrival into Formula 1 has led to divided opinions, with those such as Red Bull showing support given the fact that for them there is a lot to could gain as an engine supplier while the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari have expressed concern it would dilute the product.
However, Scuderia Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto and Mercedes boss Toto Wolff have said they have been working to accommodate Audi and Porsche and are not delaying the finalisation of the 2026 regulations with the goal of frustrating Volkswagen.
In an interview ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix weekend, Toto Wolff pointed out that the agreement to remove the expensive MGU-H should be seen as a sign that teams are willing to accept newcomers.
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“On the contrary, we don’t want to delay those regulations but we want to have them in place,” Toto Wolff said – “We have given the [MGU-]H, which was a massive thing to accommodate the newcomers. And anyway, it was said to us that by the end of the year [2021], we would have the confirmation they are joining the party. That confirmation hasn’t been given until today, I don’t know why. This is an environment where regulations will change all the time so you can’t make it regulation-dependent. We’ve made big steps towards them. And then let’s make those final steps on the regulations. It’s more the detail and it doesn’t matter if we discuss 50 dyno hours up and down for a newcomer. But we’d like to have them as part of the show. They have been sitting at the table negotiating those regulations since a while but not committed yet.” – he explained.
Mattia Binotto agreed with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff and added that while it is good to have the VW Group enter Formula 1 in 2026, there are still “open points” of the rules which need to be finalized:
“We are very positive that Audi and Porsche are joining Formula 1. We are very positive because it’s great for Formula 1, it’s great having more manufacturers. And it’s great to have VW Group within our business and our F1 racing championship. So I think we have done whatever we could to try to adapt to make sure they were happy. We removed the H, we did it only to try to help them joining Formula 1, and believe that for us removing the H is something which is not maybe the best choice. It’s a compromise because it’s a technology we know pretty well. It’s a very high efficiency technology, which is great for F1. So I think overall, again, we are very positive and constructive. So now, why is taking so long? Because it is the time which is required to do these things properly. And simply we are not ready right now. Not only us as current manufacturers but the FIA, because they are the ones who are leading the discussions. And as well I think for Audi and Porsche, the current regulations are not ready yet. They are still open points. And those open points simply need to be tackled and discussed and agreed.” – Scuderia Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto said ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix.
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