Toto Wolff has claimed that Ferrari blocked a proposed 50 kW F1 engine power increase for 2027, forcing Formula 1 to adopt a smaller initial step before moving towards a greater reliance on the internal combustion engine in 2028.
Difficulties surrounding energy management, together with concerns that the current power units have altered the natural dynamics of racing, led the teams, Formula 1 and the FIA into lengthy discussions over potential changes. A compromise was eventually reached that will move the balance away from the approximately 50:50 split between combustion and electric power—a cornerstone of the current regulations—and towards a 60:40 ratio in 2028.
According to the Mercedes team principal, however, Formula 1 could have taken that larger step as early as 2027 if Ferrari had not opposed the proposal.
Toto Wolff says Ferrari vetoed the 2027 F1 engine proposal
The main reason behind Ferrari’s opposition to an immediate move towards the 60:40 split is connected to ADUO, the power unit development system based specifically on the performance of the internal combustion engine.
Giving the ICE considerably more power would have required every manufacturer to modify the structure of its power unit. That would effectively have undermined the regulatory advantage granted to manufacturers that are further behind in performance terms, an issue already central to Formula 1’s ADUO power unit debate.
“We would have wanted an immediate 50 kW increase in engine power for next year, but Ferrari prevented us from doing so,” Toto Wolff said. “That is why we are proceeding with a 20 kW increase in 2027 and then, in 2028, with a further increase of 50 kW.”
Why Ferrari opposed the larger power increase
Ferrari’s position therefore appears to be closely linked to preserving the purpose of the ADUO system. The mechanism is intended to give underperforming manufacturers greater development freedom, but a compulsory redesign affecting every power unit supplier would risk neutralising that benefit.
The disagreement also highlights how changes to the combustion-electric balance could influence the competitive and technical landscape. Ferrari is already working on its own performance programme, including a planned power unit upgrade for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
Under the compromise described by Toto Wolff, the internal combustion engine will receive a smaller 20 kW increase in 2027, before Formula 1 completes the move towards the planned 60:40 balance in 2028.
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