12/05/2025 07:25
Toto Wolff has committed to being "open-minded if necessary" about
a change to F1's engine rules for the 2026 season. At meetings of
the F1 Commission in recent weeks, the topic of the 2026 power unit
regulations has been debated, with Red Bull boss Christian Horner
pushing for a change in the power deployment of the all-new engines
set to be introduced. At present, plans are for the engines to have
a 50-50 split between them in terms of power deployment from the
internal combustion engine and a beefed-up electrical system,
featuring 350kw, up from 120kw in 2025. However, simulations have
found that at circuits with long straights, such as Monza, cars
could run out of electrical energy halfway down straights, leading
to run on the ICE only, with lift and coast expected to become a
feature of racing unless a change is made. Horner wants a simple
reduction to 60-40 in terms of ICE/battery, with Wolff previously
labelling some of the topics discussed in the Commission meetings
as "a joke" but now, the Mercedes boss has signalled he is to be
"open-minded" about changes. "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," he told media, including
RacingNews365. " 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. "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. "We enjoyed the years from 2014 onwards, but
over a prolonged period of time, that's certainly not the best for
the sport. "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 50% 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."
